Last Resort
by lightningstrxu
Summary: Yang decides to help Jaune tackle his motion sickness head on and takes him out on an airship joyride. However, when they crash onto an island in the south Mistralian Sea and are left stranded, they'll only have each other to rely on; if they don't kill each other first. Cover by mrk50
1. Day 0

**Last Resort**

By Lightningstrxu

Day 0

* * *

Leonardo Lionheart had seen and heard many things in his long tenure as the headmaster of Haven Academy. However, the request of the blonde huntress before him just might have been the strangest.

"Let me see if I understand you correctly, Miss Xiao Long." Leo sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand, "You want me to loan you an airship?"

"Yep." Yang grinned as she leaned against the wall. "I wanted to try my hand at it. I figured Team RWBY could use a pilot."

"You want to try your hand at it?" Leo placed his pen down. "Meaning you don't know how to fly?"

"Well, no." Yang shrugged, "But, I can handle Bumblebee just fine, how hard could an airship be."

"I'm afraid to ask but what pray tell is Bumblebee?"

"Oh, that's my bike, sir." Yang commented. The silence that followed was deafening as Leonardo just stared blankly at Yang his eye twitching slightly.

"Get out this is utterly preposterous." Leo shook his head. "While I appreciate you are wanting to learn how to fly, Miss Xiao Long however there are currently no pilots here in Haven to teach you. I can't just let a teenager go off on a joyride in an airship just because she thinks she can handle it."

"Fine." Yang sighed. "This was a long shot anyway." Yang turned and exited the office just as she heard the headmaster's phone began to ring.

 _#####_

Leonardo watched the young Huntress in training go. He sighed wearily.

"I often forget how ridiculous some of the ideas these children can come up with." He scoffed as the phone rang once more. "Just a moment, just a moment." Leo hit the button on his desk activating it a hologram was projected out from it.

"Hello, Leonardo." The man who appeared said slyly as the hologram took shape.

"Oh, Dr. Watts, hello sir." Leonardo gulped nervously. "What can I help you with today?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Miss Xiao Long I believe you called her." Watts chuckled. "Quite the interesting request she had. You know I find it quite admirable that she would want to learn such a useful skill."

"Admirable yes, but practical I think not."

"Ah yes but that is where you and I disagree." Watts smirked devilishly as Leonardo's desk lit up. "I am sending you a program Leonardo. It's a wonderfully simple little thing but, with it, I believe you can make that young girl's dream come true. Just pick an airship that you won't miss and upload it, and the girl will fly off into oblivion."

"But…but, that's too risky; She is Qrow Branwen's niece." Leonardo stammered out. "If she were to vanish he would be on the warpath he would…"

"Be so distracted trying to find her that he will be gone from Haven off to look for her; along with that little girl and her friends. It will make a clear path to the relic once we have the spring maiden. Perhaps, if we're fortunate she'll take the silver-eyed girl with her, and she'll perish as well. Oh, what I would give to see the look on Cinder's face when she finds out a simple airship crash felled her foe."

"But she's just a student, a child I can't just…" Leo began to plead, his face distraught.

"That girl dies no matter what you decide, Leo." Watts' eyes narrowed. "Whether it is in a mysterious airship crash or, the jaws of a Grimm her fate remains the same. The question is, what do you want your fate to be Leo?"

"Alright, I'll do it." Leonardo held his head in his hands. "Just make sure it's quick."

"Now now, Leo that all depends on them now doesn't it? Well, good day." The hologram faded and Leo stood from his desk, the faster he got this over with, the better.

 _#####_

Yang walked down the long hallway her hand brought up to her chin in contemplation.

"I guess I'll have to find another way then." Yang muttered to herself. She wandered around Haven for a while trying to think of another way to enact her master plan. She was snapped out of her reverie when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Ah, Miss Xiao Long, so glad I caught up with you." Leonardo said as he walked up to her.

"Oh hey, headmaster." Yang said with a wave. "Did you need something?"

"Yes I did, I thought about your request again and I may be able to arrange something."

"Oh?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well, you see…" Leo chuckled nervously. "I had forgotten about a new type of airship, it has a very advanced autopilot program in it. It can teach you the basics of flight while keeping you safe and on course."

"Really now?" Yang's eyes narrowed. Leo fidgeted under her gaze. "That sounds awesome, sign me up, when can we go?"

"We?" Leo asked confused.

"Well yeah, I figured I could take someone from JNPR with us. That way we can both have a pilot."

"Ah, yes, well the more the merrier. I can have a ship ready for you in the morning if you would like?"

"Hell yeah, I do." Yang cheered. "Thanks, teach." Yang bounded off down the hallway. Leonardo was watching her go. He gave a weary sigh.

"What have I done?" He held his head a pained expression forming on his face.

 _#####_

Jaune laid on his bed attempting to doze after a long day of meditating. Finding one's semblance was an exhausting task. However, a knock on the door snapped him out of his sleepy haze. He stood, walked to the door and flung it open.

"Can I help you?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"Whoa, who spit in your soda, Jaune?" Yang waved with a small smile on her face.

"What do you need, Yang?" Jaune sighed looking at the ground not noticing the look of concern on Yang's face.

"Well, I have a proposition for you." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I got permission to go on an airship tomorrow. It's a special airship with an autopilot and a program that will help me learn to fly. I figured team RWBY could use a pilot and that team JNPR could use one as well. So, want to come with me?" Jaune blinked a few times staring incredulously at her.

"I'm sorry what?" Jaune asked a little confused. "I can barely ride in a car, and you want me to learn to be a pilot."

"Yep, I figured it's a good skill for our teams to have, and of the three of you, Jaune; I feel that you're the best candidate."

"You do know I get motion sick right?" He glanced at her trying to see if this was some kind of elaborate joke on his fellow blonde's part.

"Yeah, I know but, that's the point." She grinned. "You can tackle your weakness head-on. You don't want to be let off into battle with a stream of vomit spewing forth from your mouth."

"You never know it might make a good scare tactic." Jaune joked earning him a light jab to his shoulder from Yang. "Ow!"

"I'm serious, Jaune. I think this would be a good opportunity for you. Get out of this house for once and stretch your legs a bit."

"I don't know Yang. I still have a lot of training to do and…" His voice caught in his throat as she stepped closer to him.

"Come on, Jaune, all I'm asking is for one day." She smiled sweetly, flipping her hair back. "You can give me one day, can't you?"

"Alright fine." Jaune sighed. "What time do we go?" Yang took a step back from him.

"Ten o'clock sharp. So, don't be late." Yang winked at him before walking down the hallway.

"What did I just agree to?" Jaune griped while pinching the bridge of his nose.

 _#####_

Jaune arrived in the Haven airship docks. He walked along the rows of airships checking his scroll to make sure he had the correct one.

"Heya copilot." Yang called as she waved him down, she was already seated and strapped into the pilot's chair. "Get your butt in here."

Jaune looked up at the airship. It was a small shuttlecraft, able to carry a small load of cargo. He walked around it, inspecting it. Everything seemed sound but, then again, it's not like he was an expert on airships. He rechecked his gear; his armor and his sword were all he brought. He doubted they would need much; it was after all only a day trip. Jaune climbed into the cockpit, he noticed as he buckled in he saw Yang's bike anchored to the back.

"You brought your bike." He looked at Yang.

"Hell yeah, I did." Yang beamed. "I already programmed the route we're taking, it's scheduled to stop and land near the border of the kingdom, I figured we could get out, stretch our legs, have a bit of lunch and maybe ride around on Bumblebee a bit."

"Wow, you really thought everything out?" Jaune said legitimately impressed.

"Of course, I did." She scoffed. "What? Did you think I just wanted to take a joyride in an airship?"

"Well no…"

"Cause you'd be right." Yang cackled before punching him in the shoulder. "I'm kidding I think learning to fly will be good for us. You ready for takeoff?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Jaune leaned back in his chair taking a deep breath.

"Alright let's get this show on the road." Yang pushed a button on the console, and the airship hummed to life. It was quite fascinating to watch; the airship lit up and highlighted buttons as needed showing the exact sequence required for takeoff. Yang mimed pushing the buttons as each lit up. The ship began moving forward and guided itself down the runway and took off into the air. Jaune took a calming breath trying not to feel sick.

"Hey, just focus on the lesson it will distract you." She reached over and patted his hand. "But, if you do start to get sick the bags are to your right and please try not to get any into my hair."

"You're so kind, Yang." Jaune said with a roll of his eyes.

"Of course, I am it's one of my better features." She gave him a playful wink. "Among other things." She puffed out her chest for emphasis. Jaune rolled his eyes a second time.

Jaune sat back as he watched Yang continue to push the buttons as they lit up in sequence; he listened as the computerized voice droned on explaining the various buttons. He smiled as Yang looked quite studious. She really was serious about learning to fly.

After a while Jaune felt his eyelids start to droop; he had been up too late again. He leaned his head back against his chair. The airships movements weren't as bad as he thought they would be. It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.

 _#####_

Jaune shook awake when he felt a hand shaking his shoulder roughly.

"Jaune!" Yang shouted in his ear. "Somethings wrong."

"What!?" Jaune looked around confused. The airship was still flying, so that was a positive. "What's happening?"

"Take a look, Jaune." Yang pointed out the window. Jaune leaned forward and peered out the window. Water… there was water as far as the eye could see.

"Yang?" Jaune turned to look at her. "How did we get out here?"

"I don't know." She pulled open a compartment and pulled out a rather thick manual. "The autopilot must have malfunctioned while I was asleep."

"You were asleep?" Jaune shouted.

"So were you!" Yang shouted back her eyes were turning red. She panted raggedly while her right arm grabbed hold of her trembling left wrist. She took a deep breath her eyes returning to normal. "It doesn't matter, what matters now is getting out of this."

"So, what do we do?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out." She paged through the manual. "From what I read when I set the flight path this morning everything is supposed to be automated."

"So maybe there was a glitch in the autopilot." Jaune leaned over in his seat trying to look at the book.

"Big time; according to this all I have to do is push this…" Yang reached up and pushed a bright red button on the console. "…and that should cause the autopilot to reset and return to home. But as you can see." She pushed the button some more. "Nothing is happening."

"Can you get in contact with Haven at all?" Jaune stared at the console of buttons, flips, and switches before him hoping that he could divine some answer from them.

"That was the second thing I did, we're out of range for normal radio, but the emergency beacon did make it and was received back at Haven."

"It was?" Jaune looked at the console before him. "What did it say? Was there a response?" Yang looked at the book and then at the console.

"It was received." She continued to look back and forth between the book and the screen. "They haven't sent a reply message back."

"So, they know we're in trouble?"

"Yeah, so I guess we just sit here and wait until they respond." Yang leaned back in her chair and sighed.

"But, what if the airship runs out of fuel?" Jaune asked frantically.

"Well, if we get low the system is supposed to land automatically. Problem is…" She glanced down at the water below. "…There's nowhere to land."

Jaune peered out at the expanse of ocean beneath him. "So what do we do?"

"I guess we wait?" Yang said with a shrug.

"Yeah, that sounds like an excellent plan." Jaune sank into his chair he was starting to feel queasy. Whether it was from his motion sickness or just nerves he wasn't sure.

Yang got up from her chair stretching as she stood, "Well, we've got time to kill." She smiled perhaps a bit too brightly. "Want some lunch?"

"How can you even think about eating at a time like this?" Jaune snapped. "Aren't you worried?"

"Of course, I'm worried, Jaune." Yang walked to the back of the airship and retrieved a basket. "But, our only options are to either wait or jump ship, and I do not want to do the second."

"I should have never let you talk me into this." Jaune cradled his head in his hands. "Why did you think I would make a good pilot anyway?"

"I didn't okay!" Yang snapped her eyes turning red for the briefest of moments.

"What?" Jaune blinked in confusion as he looked back at her. "Then, why did you…"

"Because you looked like you needed time away from everything Jaune." Yang grabbed two cans of soda and walked back to her chair. She held one of the cans out to him. "Drink up." Jaune reached out and grabbed the can.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked bewildered.

"The night Weiss and I got back, we all had dinner, everybody was so happy, and they were all smiling." Yang paused a moment to sip her drink. "Except you, Jaune, you were there with us but not really, you seemed off. I've noticed you avoiding everyone it's like you're barely even around. Not to mention I hear you sneaking out every night. What are you even doing?"

Jaune blinked a few times. All this time he thought Yang had just wanted to be a pilot on a whim, and while she did seem to be taking it seriously, it seemed to be the kind of impulsive thing Yang would do, but here she was not even a full week since she came back and did everything she could do to make sure he was okay.

"Yang I…" A sudden almost deafening silence filled the airship which suddenly lurched forward. Yang was knocked out of her seat as the ship fell from the sky; it was nothing like the movies she had grown up with. Crashes were always dramatic affairs. They hit the water in seconds.

Yang reeled being pushed back by the wall of water that poured into the cockpit; her aura shimmered and fizzled under the punishing amount of force. The airship was sinking and fast. She swam back towards the front of the airship the water already up to her waist and rising rapidly.

"Jaune!" Yang shouted worryingly, and she found him still strapped into his chair unconscious. "Oh, come on! I was the one who was tossed around." She undid his restraints and dragged him out of the chair.

Yang looked around the airship. Water was rushing through seams in its side and the cracks in the windshield.

"Wake up, Jaune I don't think I can carry us both out of here." Yang spoke frantically while shaking him. "Damn it, Jaune!" she went to work undoing his armor, she would have a hard enough time dragging him out without an extra forty or so pounds weighing him down. She managed to get the breastplate off him and tossed it to the side.

Jaune's eyes shot open, and he lurched forward vomiting. Yang recoiled from him; it took everything she had not to react there, were more important things to worry about.

"Get it together Jaune. The ship crashed, and we have to get out of here now!"

"What!?" Jaune asked before looking around at the rapidly filling airship. "Shit!" he scrambled to his feet wading through the water. "How do we get out?"

"Brace yourself Jaune." She leveled her mechanical arm at the windshield as a gun barrel emerged from her forearm. "Cause this is the stupidest thing I've ever come up with." She unloaded several rounds into the windshield which then cracked and buckled under the water pressure letting in more water filling the airship completely.

They both swam out through the broken windshield heading as fast as they could towards the surface. As she swam Yang undid the long leather tails at her back and let them sink away, her jacket and gloves following after, the extra weight was dragging her down.

They broke the surface gasping for air, Jaune struggling to tread water. Yang instinctively grabbed onto him, nearly being dragged down herself.

"Take off the rest of your armor, or you'll sink."

"The rest of…" Jaune looked down to see the smiling face of Pumpkin Pete staring back at him. "My breastplate what happened to it?"

"That is what you choose to focus on right now!" Yang fumed eyes flashing red. "I thought I was going to have to drag your ass through the water and you're heavy enough."

"That armor was…" Jaune stumbled over his words his mind jumbled somewhere between confused and angry. "I'm going back for it." He swam away from her only for Yang's right hand to clamp painfully onto him.

"Lose the armor, or you drown!" she growled. "Don't go killing yourself for it I don't care how important it was, cause, then I'll end up drowning trying to save you."

Jaune stared at Yang; he knew she was right. But this armor was one of the few things he had left of Pyrrha, but at the same time, Yang was right, he would drown if he kept struggling to stay afloat. His hands were shaking, he undid his gauntlets and pauldron and watched as they sunk into the abyss. The weight of his sword and shield still dragging him down but he would manage. He would die before he gave those up.

"So, what do we do now, Jaune?" Yang asked treading water furiously.

"I don't know Yang." Jaune looked around hoping to see something, anything that could help them. His eyes scanned the horizon, and he saw something off in the distance; The tiniest speck of green. "I think I see an island."

"Really?" Yang's eyes squinted as she followed Jaune's gaze. "I think I see it too."

Jaune started swimming towards it, Yang following close behind. It was a long shot but it was the only other option was to tread water endlessly in the ocean. Neither knew how long they swam for, stopping every so often to make sure they were still on course and to rest occasionally. By the time they stumbled onto the shore they were exhausted, and the sun was low in the sky.

"Land." Jaune muttered as he crawled out of the surf collapsing face first into the sand. A coughing fit soon followed as he flipped over onto his back. "Bad idea…" he coughed up a cloud of sand.

"No shit." Yang griped as she trudged up next to him, she held a hand out to him. "Come on let's get off the beach." Jaune reached out and took hold of it. She pulled him to his feet and slung his arm over her shoulders. Together they staggered up the beach and into the tree line of a rather lush jungle. There they promptly collapsed onto the ground.

"So this has just been a day." Jaune lay on the ground panting.

"You're telling me." Yang muttered as she curled up into a ball shivering, she was soaked to the bone and the rapidly approaching night wasn't helping. Jaune sat up pulling his hoodie and undershirt over his head. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm freezing, and our clothes are soaked, they have to be removed and dried, or we'll get sick." He tossed his hoodie and shirt aside and started working on his shoes. "I suggest you do the same."

"Excuse me?" Yang huffed crossing her arms over her chest. "If you think I'm easy enough to just strip in…"

"Then freeze to death, Yang!" Jaune snapped cutting her off. "Do you really think I care? I'm exhausted, cold, and stuck out in the middle of the ocean on some gods' forsaken island. I don't care Yang. You've got nothing special; I lived with seven sisters, lived in a coed dorm, and traveled for months on the road with Ruby. Trust me, Yang, a girl in their underwear isn't a big deal" Jaune panted a little after his rant and managed to pry off his shoes.

Yang just sat there blinking, as Jaune took off his pants leaving him in only his boxers. He really didn't care. It was like Yang wasn't even there.

"You saw Ruby in her underwear?" Yang broke the silence. Jaune's eye noticeably twitched.

"That's what you took from all that?" Jaune threw his hands up in frustration. "Yes, I saw Ruby in her underwear and Nora too. Want to know what I thought?" Yang slowly nodded taken a bit aback by Jaune's anger.

"Nothing, cause I had way more important things to think about, just like right now. So, I'm going to sleep, warm up and we can figure out what to do in the morning." Jaune let out an exasperated sigh before curling up on the ground facing away from her.

Jaune laid there for a few minutes in silence before hearing Yang shifting and wet cloth hitting the ground. He flinched when he felt her push her back against his own but relaxed as he felt her warmth; she was like a furnace.

"Hey, Jaune." Yang whispered

"Yeah, Yang."

"I'm sorry for dragging you out here."

"It's not your fault Yang, get some sleep. We can talk about what to do in the morning.

"Okay."

Yang settled in against Jaune and closed her eyes; it wasn't long before exhaustion took them.

* * *

Well so ends the first chapter of my new story. To those who know my story Trapped you know it started with Weiss and Jaune stuck on a mountain but soon moved on to other things. So I decided to make a story based on the concept of being stuck with Jaune. Thus was born Last Resort, the second installment that my writing buddies and I call the Trapped cinematic universe. Whether there is a Knightshade and Lancaster installment down the line has yet to be determined.

Credits

Mallobaude

Constable Paperbag

Aetherling

Spiritwalker95

Protosaber

And to all the rest in my writing group for helping me to develop this idea.

Special credit

InsertSomthinAwesome for the cover pic

Ijustreadeverything for cropping it for me and proofreading.


	2. Day 1

**Last Resort**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetherling

Day 1

* * *

The bright morning sun filtered down through the leaves its rays hitting Jaune in the face. He scrunched up his eyes, trying in vain to block out the light. He attempted to bring his arm up as a further defense against the sun but felt his arm being met with resistance. He pulled on it only for it to be dragged back as a pair of arms tightened around him.

"No." Yang mumbled in her sleep pulling Jaune closer. Jaune's eyes opened in a flash, his vision being assaulted by sunlight. He blinked a few times trying to focus his gaze. Soft dirt and trees surrounding him, above him a lush green canopy, and behind him was his most current predicament. Yang was gripping onto him as a child might a teddy bear; her breath was tickling the back of his neck.

"Yang, wake up." Jaune wriggled in her grasp, but this only caused her to grip tighter. This reminded Jaune very much of their current state of dress. Or, as his eyes fell on the pile of clothes in front of him signified, undress. Jaune was currently in a position most guys would have killed for; he could feel Yang pressed firmly against his back, her body still burning like a furnace. While it was welcoming the night before, it was now oppressive in the light of day. "Yang!"

"What!" Yang sat up with a start disentangling herself from Jaune. Her right arm unfolding out into a gun "What's going on?" she scanned her strange surroundings carefully. "Where?" she shook her head her mind finally catching up with her instincts, and her stance relaxed. She looked down at Jaune who was currently looking up at her with wide eyes. "Good morning." She chuckled nervously as the gun on her arm receded.

"Yeah morning." Jaune let out a sigh as he sat up looking above him. "More like afternoon judging by the sun at least; well that and the temperature." Jaune wiped some sweat from his brow. "Not that you were helping."

"Oh?" Yang said a mischievous smirk was forming on her face. "Am I too hot for you Jaune?"

"I'm not falling for that Yang." Jaune scoffed. "You put out body heat like some kind of furnace; to be honest, you're not very comfortable."

"Pffft, like you didn't enjoy it." Yang said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yang." Jaune pinched his brow in frustration. "Let's just get dressed and forget this ever happened." Jaune reached over to his pile of clothes only to find that they had dried into an unwearable salt encrusted lump. "Just great."

He sighed, stood up, and stretched: wincing a little from various aches and pains. He sighed again upon finding that his boxers had dried into a similar state and was becoming increasingly aware of how uncomfortable they were. If he were by himself, he might have even considered removing them as well. "Well, my clothes are useless. What about yours?"

"Same here." Yang said in a frustrated tone. Jaune glanced back behind him to see Yang suffering from a similar predicament. He chuckled as he watched her scratch in less than dignified places. "Ugh, fucking salt."

"I wouldn't do that." Jaune watched still greatly amused. "Your clothes are basically salt infused sandpaper right now."

"You think this is funny?" Yang growled. "I have salt and sand in places I would very much want them not to be."

"Same here." Jaune picked his clothes off the ground. He stopped for a moment when he realized how light the load felt. His armor was gone now rusting at the bottom of the ocean. All he had left was his sword, shield, and red sash. He fished through the pocket on his jeans and pulled out his scroll: it wasn't working either. Jaune let out a small sigh. In one night he had lost so much of what he had left from Pyrrha.

"Hey, you okay?" Yang asked concerned placing her right hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jaune shook his head. "That armor just meant a lot to me, and I just realized that I'll never see it again."

"I'm sorry Jaune." She patted his shoulder. "But if it means anything I lost Bumblebee. I got that bike when I was fifteen." Yang turned towards the beach and raised her fist high. "Curse you vengeful sea gods; how dare you sink Bumblebee!" Yang laughed uproariously.

"I'm going to find a stream, Yang." Jaune said flatly before storming off into the jungle behind him.

"Jaune?" Yang turned to look after him. "Well excuse me for trying to breathe a little humor into the situation." She huffed before retrieving the salt bricks she called clothing and stomping after him. "Jaune look I'm sorry, humor is just what I do." She watched as Jaune continued to walk forward silently ignoring her. "Shouldn't we wait on the beach for when rescue comes, we sent out a signal it shouldn't be too long before rescue."

"Do you want to be rescued in your underwear, Yang?" Jaune finally turned around in to talk to her. "I certainly don't, and I also want to see if I can scrounge up some food: I'm starving." Yang stopped and looked down at herself, currently clad in only a bra and panties; she was sure to give her rescuers a show. A show she didn't want to give.

"I see your point." Her stomach then growled painfully. "And your second point as well. So what kind of food are we looking for?"

"Well I'm not as familiar with the tropics, but when we were on the road to Mistral, we would find various fruits and hunt small game. It shouldn't be too different here." Jaune looked around and up into some of the trees. "It looks like there are some coconuts if you want to try them. Or, we can see if we can find a stream; there's usually things growing by them, and water should take priority."

"Okay." Yang nodded, she followed close behind him, watching him take the lead as he traversed the jungle. It was interesting seeing how far Jaune had come in a little over a year's time. It wasn't that long ago that Jaune was Vomit Boy. He was the worst student in Beacon; Mister Tall, Blonde, and Scraggly. Although, judging from how he looked now, the scraggly part was fading fast.

"Hey, I think I hear water running up ahead." Jaune called back to her. Yang craned her neck to listen; she could just faintly hear water running off in the distance. They ran through the jungle, racing towards the source of the sound. Reaching the end of the tree line they walked out into a wide open clearing.

"Whoa." Before them was a sizable complex of dilapidated buildings in various states of disrepair. They walked nervously forward, abandoned buildings in the middle of nowhere usually signified Grimm. "What do you think Jaune?"

"It looks like an abandoned resort." Jaune replied. They inched forward, scanning the nearby structures and still attempting to locate the source of running water they had heard. They were near the back end of the complex judging from the large four-story building that stood near the tree line, the other buildings extending outward from there along with an overgrown path extending all the way to the beach. He looked up to the large building; it looked to be in better shape than the others, more solidly constructed. "Silene Island Resort." Jaune read from the faded gold lettering emblazoned on the front of the building.

"An abandoned beach resort." Yang whispered still looking around at the various buildings.  
"Should we check out the buildings?"

"No." Jaune shook his head. "We find water first, that's priority. We won't get very far if we dehydrate." Yang couldn't exactly disagree with that statement, she was currently dying of thirst, and the hot tropical sun wasn't exactly helping. Besides the sooner they found water the sooner, she could have her clothes back. Despite her thrill seeker attitude, she didn't exactly like parading around in her underwear in front of Jaune. Listening again, they could hear the sound of running water was closer now. The two Huntsmen made their way to the eastern side of the resort and there they found the source.

"Wow~!" Yang said with wide eyes. Before them was lush green hill a waterfall cascading down its side. The waterfall emptied into a perfectly clear reservoir of water about the size of a large swimming pool; a soft blue glow could be seen coming from the bottom. "Is that dust?"

"It looks like it." Jaune said walking over to the edge of the pool and sticking a hand into the water it was cool. He scooped up a tentative handful and drank it. "It's fresh." He drank some more. "Very fresh. I guess that's what the dust is for." Yang rushed over and dropped to her knees plunging her face into the water.

"Gods, that was refreshing!" she wiped her lips as she sat back her hair now dripping slightly. Jaune stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Thirsty?" he chuckled.

"Shut up." Yang stuck out her tongue at him before laughing and lying back on the soft dirt beneath her. With her thirst quenched and the warm sun shining down on her she could have fallen asleep at that moment if it wasn't for the loud growling of her stomach. "Damn it."

"Hungry too, I see." Jaune chuckled before his stomach growled as well. "So am I." Jaune took his clothes over to the pool; grabbing his hoodie, he dunked it in the water, rinsing it out. "Let's clean these off, and then we can search for food while they dry."

"Good, I'm starving." Yang reached over and grabbed her clothes and began washing them out. When they had finished they laid them out on some nearby rocks where the sun would hopefully dry them quickly. Wandering back to the large building, Jaune grabbed onto the door handle and pulled: it was rusted shut.

"Come on!" Jaune gripped the door handle with both hands. "Open up, damn it."

"Allow me." Yang said smugly as she cracked the knuckles of her left hand. Gripping the door with both hands, she yanked with all her might, only for her to fall flat on her butt as the door snapped off its hinges. "Damn it!" she pushed the door off of her.

"Well, it's open at least." Jaune deadpanned.

"You could at least ask if I'm okay." Yang fumed.

"Yang, I watched you fall a thousand feet out of the sky during our food fight. When you landed, you asked 'Sup?' I think your fine." Jaune held his hand out to her. "Here." Yang reached up and grabbed his hand and stood. "Ladies first." He bowed motioning to the door.

"So go ahead Jaune." Yang snarked back.

"Ouch." Jaune smiled, they walked into the building and were immediately assaulted by the stench of mildew and rot. They turned and ran out a moment later panting and gagging. "Check somewhere else?"

"Yes!" Jaune gasped out as he breathed in fresh air. They made their way down the path to the rows of smaller buildings; upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be bungalows. Perfect for vacationing in a tropical paradise, walking up to the nearest one they went inside with little resistance from the door. Inside was a large, open living room, various bits of furniture scattered about. The smell of mildew persisted here as well, but due to the more open nature of the bungalow, it wasn't nearly as strong.

"Well, I don't think there's food in here." Yang started looking through some of the random things scattered about.

"Nothing fresh; we're looking for canned foods if we can find any, nothing that expires quickly." They wandered into the kitchen area. Taking the long shot, Yang decided to check the fridge but found nothing but rotten remains and a foul stench. She quickly slammed it shut again.

"Ugh!" She pinched her nose shut with her hand. Jaune rummaged through the cupboard. His eyes widened as he found a gift from the gods' themselves.

"Spam!" Jaune shouted as he retrieved the tiny can from the cupboard. "There are three cans of it."

"Sweet, toss me one." Yang beamed.

"Toss you one? We're going to split it." Jaune asked confused. "If we split it that's three meals for each of us."

"Or we can just eat them and be done with it; we'll eat later when rescue arrives."

"Alright then, when will rescue arrive?" Jaune glared.

"I don't know." Yang shrugged

"You're right you don't." Jaune placed the can on the counter and peeled it opened it. "They know about where we crashed down but not our exact location, it could take days to pinpoint us. There won't be much to rescue if we starve to death in the meantime." Finding a relatively intact knife in a nearby drawer, he inspected briefly before cutting the canned meat in half. "So, for the time being let's pretend we're stuck here." He held out Yang's portion to her.

"Fine." Yang sighed as she grabbed the block of meat. Bringing it to her lips, she took a bite. Never in all her years would Yang have imagined that spam could taste so good. "Mmmm~" Sadly the meal was over in only a few bites. "Well let's see what else we can find."

"Sure." Jaune nodded finishing up his portion as well. They rummaged around the bungalow looking for anything of note. They found the bedroom. Jaune checked the small bathroom attached to it. Checking the medicine cabinet, he found a few most likely expired pills and a few dried-out bandages. "Nothing…" Jaune sighed.

"Aww score!" Yang exclaimed from the bedroom, the sound was followed by the tearing of plastic. Jaune walked into the bedroom just as Yang was pulling a white sundress over her head. "It's a little modest for my taste." She motioned down to it; the dress went down to a little past her knees. "But it's better than nothing; sorry Jaune the shows over." She smirked at him.

"Please." Jaune said with a roll of his eyes. "I told you before that it's not that big of a deal."

"Hey Jaune, can you turn around for a moment" Yang asked shifting awkwardly.

"Yeah sure." Jaune nodded as he faced away from her. He could hear the sound of cloth shuffling.

"Oh, that feels so much better." Yang sighed with relief.

"What feels better?" Jaune asked still facing away from her.

"Just things Jaune." You can turn around now. Jaune turned around just as Yang was stowing something inside the dress' pocket. "Well, should we keep looking around?"

"Yeah." Jaune nodded. "I don't suppose there were any other clothes in there?"

"Nope, everything else was real ratty; this looks like it was never opened." She motioned to the dress. "Kept it in good condition."

"Lucky you." Jaune deadpanned. They exited the bungalow and started searching the others for supplies. Their haul was meager at best. A few more cans of food, a roll of gauze and a shirt but not pants.

"Aww, I guess my shows over too." Yang teased as Jaune pulled the shirt over his head.

"Haha, I'm glad I could be your entertainment for the day." Jaune griped as they made their way down to the beach. It was getting later in the day, so it was thankfully cooler with a nice stiff breeze blowing in from the ocean.

"Can we go somewhere less windy?" Yang asked. Jaune looked over to see that she had a death grip on her skirt to keep it blowing up.

"Why? I think the wind feels quite nice." Jaune commented.

"Just reasons, Jaune." Yang shifted awkwardly, skirt still firmly held in place.

"Well, we have one more building." Jaune pointed at a structure that stood right at the edge of where the dirt met the sand of the beach. Walking up to it was revealed to be a dilapidated bar.

"The Drunken Dragon Bar and Grill." Yang read the sign. "Well, if we're going to find food it would be here."

"Alcohol would be useful as well: makes a good fire source."

"Ooor we could party it up for the night." Yang smiled as she practically pranced inside. Jaune sighed and followed her a moment later. Yang was already behind the bar pulling out several bottles. "Jaune I don't know what happened to this place, but they left so much behind when they cleared out." She placed a couple of shot glasses on the bar; they appeared to be in relatively good condition all things considered. "What'll you have?"

"Yang, is this really a good idea?" Jaune leaned on the bar.

"What do we have to lose Jaune?" Yang filled the two glasses. "We're tired, and stuck in the middle of nowhere. Getting a little tipsy sounds fantastic." She held the glass out to him. "Besides the whole point of this was for you to relax and get away from it all. Well, we're away from it all now Jaune, so have a drink and tell your own personal bartender about what you're feeling."

"Yang I…" he stared at the drink and then at Yang's concerned gaze. This entire situation, as terrible as it had become, all started because Yang, of all people, was concerned about him. She really was a big sister at heart, and she was right it's not like they were going anywhere, the worst that would happen is they would be hungover when the rescue reached them. "Fine, you win." Jaune reached out and grabbed the glass. "Cheers." He raised the glass.

"Cheers." She raised hers as well, and they clinked their glasses together before each downing their shot. Yang grimaced slightly before swallowing. "Wooo, that's strong."

"Are you trying to poison me?" Jaune gasped out after a brief coughing fit.

"Nah, that just means its good, you lightweight." Yang grabbed the bottle and her shot glass and walked out from behind the bar and found a clear spot on the floor near the wall and sat down, carefully making sure her skirt stayed in place. She then patted the space to her left. "Sit down and take a load off Jaune. Tell Ol' Yang all about it."

"Fine." Jaune smiled and sat down next to her, holding out his glass, Yang poured out another shot for each of them. Jaune brought it to his lips and downed it much more easily than he had before. "You want to know what's going on Yang?"

"Yeah, just talk about it, I'll be here to listen." Yang smiled softly before taking another shot.

"I'm training…I sneak off every night to get some extra training in." Jaune leaned back against the wall.

"Is that all?" Yang leaned back as well. "You can just ask us to help you train, I'd be happy to kick your ass every day till you got better."

"No, this was more personal Yang." Jaune sighed. "On my scroll, I have…had…" His eyes began to tear up at the memory of his lost scroll. "…A video of Pyrrha. She made for me to use when she wasn't around." Jaune choked back a sob.

"Jaune?" Yang asked concerned placing her left hand on his shoulder.

"Do you know what I told her when she gave me the video Yang?" Jaune grabbed the bottle from Yang and poured another shot. "Why bother, you'll always be there for me Pyrrha." Jaune downed his shot. "But was I there for her when she needed me? No, I wasn't. I was miles away in a locker. I should have done something - anything - to stop her…" Jaune brought his fingers to his lips. "But I was too distracted." Jaune went to pour another shot, but Yang's hand gripped his wrist tightly.

"That's enough for now. You'll make yourself sick if you down them too fast." Yang took the bottle from him and set it next to her before pulling Jaune into a hug. Jaune broke down completely at that and sobbed uncontrollably. "It's okay just let it all out." She rubbed soothing circles on his back. Big sister mode had been officially activated. "Shhh, everything will be alright." She hugged him tighter his face currently buried in her chest. Minutes passed how many she wasn't sure, but slowly he calmed down and backed away from her.

"Thank you, Yang." Jaune wiped his eyes "I needed that."

"Anytime." She smiled softly. "You don't have to hold everything in all the time."

"I know." Jaune nodded leaning back against the wall. "Hey, Yang…before Pyrrha left, she…"

"Jaune you don't have to keep talking about it all at once, it's good to get things out but force yourself either." She placed her hand on his.

"Thanks… but I need to know this." Jaune sighed. "Yang, did Pyrrha like me?"

"Of course she did Jaune, other than Cardin who wouldn't like you. You're a pretty…"

"Yang!" Jaune interrupted. "Did Pyrrha _like_ me? Before she left, Pyrrha kissed me, Yang."

"What?" Yang blinked in surprise. "Like on the cheek?"

"Yang! Can you be serious with me?"

"What?" She blinked. "Like she…?"

"She grabbed my face then kissed me so hard my lips were bruised for a week." Jaune couldn't help but chuckle a little seeing Yang's shocked face. "So was I just stupidly blind? Or was that some act of desperation on her end." Yang poured two more shots. "I thought you said no more?"

"Trust me Jaune you're going to need it." Yang downed her shot and then took a deep breath. "Pyrrha liked you like _sooooo_ much Jaune. She had the patience of a saint though, if she didn't she would have slammed you against the wall and jammed her tongue down your throat in the first week of school."

Jaune stared at Yang as he brought the shot glass to his lips and downed it.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Jaune groaned. "What was I even doing with my life?"

"Well back then you were mostly busy with Weiss." Yang shrugged. "What if you had known, would you have been a thing?"

"I don't know." Jaune sighed. "I never thought about Pyrrha that way, but if I had known, if she had asked, I would have at least given it a shot. Weiss wasn't even into me. Gods, I'm so stupid."

"Hey, if it means anything, I always rooted for you when it came to Weiss."

"Really?" Jaune asked a little confused. "Why?"

"Well, you're pretty nice guy Jaune, a bit of a goof." Yang smiled. "But you had a good heart, and if anyone was going to get the stick out of her butt, it would have been you." Her eyes widened as she gasped. "I know Jaune, Weiss has softened up so much, I bet I could put in a good word for you. I'll be your wing woman."

"Thanks, but no Yang." He gave a weak smile. "I'm not exactly ready for that yet."

"Understandable." Yang nodded leaning back against the wall.

They sat in silence for a while taking a few more shots. The bottle is now nearly empty. Yang wasn't quite sure where it all went.

"Hey, Ying…thenk ya." Jaune slurred out.

"No problem, Jaune." Yang said a little tipsy but nowhere near as drunk as Jaune.

"Hey Ying, what about ya, anythin ya want to talk about. A lot happen to ya."

"You mean this." She held up her golden arm proudly. "Pretty neat huh?"

"It is." Jaune nodded the head motion nearly causing him to lose balance. "Buh what about Blek?" Yang notably flinched at the mention of her former partner.

"What about Blake…" Yang clenched her fists. "She's gone, she abandoned me and left me behind. Guess we both lost our partners" Yang sighed.

"Yer wrong Ying!" Jaune drunkenly shouted. "Blek made a mis a mis she feked up Ying, but she can still come back to ya. Blek can still say she was sorry. Pyrrha she can no come back, but Blek can. Be angry Ying yell at her, an then hug her an neva let go." Jaune then promptly fell face first into her lap snoring softly.

"What do you know Jaune?" Yang sighed as she flipped him over, so he was on his side. She looked down at his sleeping face. "Blake left just like everyone else did…Raven, Summer, Blake and even Ruby…all of them left when I needed them most. At least Ruby had an excuse and left a note. Thanks for taking care of her by the way." Jaune shifted in his sleep.

"Pyrrha…" he muttered, a scowl forming on his face. Yang ran a hand through his hair, shushing him softly.

"It's okay." She stroked his hair some more, slipping back into big sister mode she began to hum. "Hush your cries, close your eyes, stay with me, let's just dream, quietly, of what might be…" Yang softly sang until his cries quieted. She leaned her head back against the wall still absently running her hand through his hair. "Good night Jaune."

Her eyes closed and sleep found them both.

* * *

Well so ends another chapter and the first day on the island. Thanks to all of you for giving this story so much support 17 reviews and over 150 follows on a first chapter is nothing short of amazing to me. Till next time.


	3. Day 2

**Last Resort**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetheling

Day 2

* * *

Jaune's eyes slowly opened, his head pounded and his vision spun. He carefully sat up.

"Ugh, my head." Jaune groaned as he rested his head against the wall. "I don't know why I let you talk me into that, Yang." Silence was all that greeted him.

"Yang?" Looking around, she was nowhere to be seen. "Yang!" He shouted a little louder, causing him to gasp, his throat bone dry. Shakily finding his footing, Jaune stood and stumbled his way to the door. Only for the bright tropical midday sun to greet him. "Aggh, son of a bitch!" He closed his eyes tightly, bringing his arms up to shield him from this devastating assault on his eyes. After a few minutes of adjusting to the light, he began to trudge his way back to the resort. Yang could wait: he needed water now.

He could hear a dull thumping noise in the distance, making him wince every time it sounded, which only grew louder as he progressed. He eventually came to the source of the hellish noise: Yang, changed back to her usual attire, chopping away at a palm tree with Crocea Mors.

"What are you doing!?" Jaune yelled, staring in disbelief. He immediately flinched at his own voice booming in his ears.

"Oh hey, Jaune!" Yang said with a wave. "Did you sleep well?"

"No! What are you doing with my sword, Yang?" Jaune pointed at the sword clutched within Yang's hand.

"Chopping wood." Yang swung the sword back into the tree with a loud _thunk_ which caused him to wince. "I figured we could use the firewood."

"Yang…while I appreciate you trying to help out, could you maybe not use my sword as an ax?"

"Why?" another swing from Yang another wince from Jaune. "I mean, I guess I could punch the trees down, but that seems like overkill, even for me." She plunged the sword into the ground.

"But if you insist." The gun barrel hidden in Yang's arm popped out, and she prepared to unleash her full might against the poor defenseless palm.

"Wait!" Jaune held up his hands in panic; he was not about to subject his ears to the sound of Yang's shotgun. "You can use my sword, just wait a moment." Jaune retrieved his sword from the ground, as well as the sheath after a brief search. He slid the blade home, locked it in place, then shifted it into its greatsword form. "Use this."

"Wow! That's new." Yang smiled as she took the offered sword. "When did you get this?"

"Ruby helped me make it." Jaune smiled. "It'll be a lot more useful, and easier on the sword. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and pass out face first in the pool." Jaune griped before staggering away.

"Remember to make drowning noises if you need help." Yang waved enthusiastically before going back to chopping.

After about an hour, Yang had made short work of five defenseless palm trees and had hacked them into logs. Bundling them together, she carried them up to the pool. She found Jaune passed out near the pool's edge; he had changed back into his usual outfit, except that his hoodie was now draped over his face, to keep the sun out of his eyes. Setting the log pile down she tiptoed up to Jaune. Leaning down she gently shook him by his shoulder: "Hey, wake up."

"Ugh…go away, Yang." Jaune groaned. Suddenly the horrendous light of the sun invaded his eyes as Yang tore the hoodie away. "Gods, why?" he shielded his eyes from the sun. He sat up with a heavy sigh, cracking open his eyes he was treated to the sight of Yang with a wide grin on her face.

"Have a nice nap?" Yang crouched down next to him.

"Shut up." Jaune muttered as he stretched his back, cracking loudly.

"Now Jaune, you and I both know that isn't happening." Yang shook her head and chuckled. "So, what's the plan fearless leader?"

"Plan? Well, we don't know when exactly rescue will arrive; it could be later today, could be a week from now." Jaune brought his hand to his chin as he pondered. "We have water taken care of because of the pool; food and shelter are still an issue."

"Well, we have the bar? That would work as a shelter." Yang commented.

"No, it's too close to the beach. It's also more enclosed than the bungalows, I'd rather use one of them, they won't be as claustrophobic, we can also maybe repurpose a bed there, and personally, I'd rather never see alcohol again."

"Ha, lightweight."

"Shut up, Yang." Jaune grumbled again. "Anyway, so the plan for today then; I want you to check out the main building for supplies."

"But it smells in there!" Yang protested. "You go check it out!"

"I'm hungover thanks to you; I won't last a minute in there. I'll be out here trying to find some good shelter, set up a fire and see if I can scrounge up any food."

"Fine." Yang sighed as she stood up. "But you better have a damn steak dinner when I get back."

"If I find a cow, I'll let you know." Jaune smirked.

"See you later, vomit boy." Yang waved to him as she headed off to the main building. Jaune stood up and stretched.

"Alright, let's see what we can do." Jaune said trying to encourage himself.

 _#####_

Yang looked up at the building, its visage looming over her like some menacing Grimm ready to pounce.

"Alright girl, you can do this." Yang took a deep breath. "You've faced down giant monsters before. It's just a building that smells like ass." Taking another deep breath, she strode inside with head held high and immediately lost her composure to a coughing fit. Taking a moment to regain control of herself and acclimate to the dank environment, the coughs subsided, and she continued on with her mission.

Stepping carefully over the bits of strewn debris she made her way down the nearest corridor. The first place she found was an upscale general store/gift shop combo. Prying open the door with minimal struggle, which thankfully did not result in her falling on her but this time, she stepped inside. She found the usual fair of tourist merchandise; the plastic children's toys for digging in the sand had held up rather well. Picking up a particularly large bucket she grabbed a few of the plastic shovels and put them inside of it.

"Well, toys are better than nothing, I guess." Yang mused to herself. She went about the aisles scouring for any supplies she deemed useful. Finding an aisle of simple snack foods she rummaged through them hoping to salvage anything, but everything was well past its expiration date. "Huh, so everyone cleared out around five years ago, give or take." Searching through a bit more she found it odd how much had been left behind. The bungalows had been stripped bare leaving minimal supplies. But here it was as if they just up and left leaving everything behind.

"What happened here?" Yang whispered. Only a few things could cause the collapse of a place like this. Grimm being one of the more likely answers, but they hadn't seen any sign of them since they had gotten to the island, and if they were the culprit the state of disrepair would be much worse.

Finishing her thoughts, Yang moved on to continue her search for supplies. Moving over to a section containing food that was more substantial than snacks she was met with disappointment there as well. All of it well past rotten.

"I guess I should have expected that." Yang sighed. Continuing her exploration, she found a clothing section. She hoped forlornly there would be something of use here: Again nothing. Ragged and ratty clothing adorned every shelf and rack, seeing only a few shirts and articles that seemed even remotely salvageable, she tossed them in her bucket. The cloth might be useful for something, at least.

Walking over to the next aisle she found various swimsuits on display, they were in much better condition than the clothing was, and they would be useful. They were on an island, and they would have to go into the water at some point, wouldn't they? It would be better than stripping down to her underwear again, at least. Looking briefly through the men's swimwear, she took a guess and grabbed a few pairs that may have fit Jaune. That task done with she then turned her sights to women's swimwear. This was a much more meticulous endeavor; just because she was trapped on an island didn't mean she couldn't look good.

"Damn it!" Yang growled in frustration as she browsed through the selection before her. "What was this place, The Island of Small Tits!" She tossed yet another swimsuit aside that would be unable to contain her generous bust. Digging through the various articles of swimwear, she managed to scrounge up a very unflattering skirted one piece that was a drab brown in color with neon green polka dots. It was hideous to look at, so of course, it was just her size. Begrudgingly tossing it in her bucket along with a few others that caught her eye, at the very least the material might provide some use.

Running through the aisles, she quickly scanned to see if she could find any other supplies, finding nothing she decided it was time to move on and left the store and prepared to search the remaining hotel rooms. She had a lot of ground to cover and precious little daylight left to do it.

#####

Jaune sighed as he trudged back down the path to the Drunken Dragon. Loath as he was to return to the source of the headache that was currently pounding in his skull, it would be the most likely place to find salvageable food. Walking up the steps, Jaune paused as he stared at the sign.

"So we meet again, my nemesis." Jaune whispered to the bar before heading inside. Making a beeline for the kitchen, he began his search. There were very few foods he could have hoped to find that would have lasted here over the years. But Jaune knew of at least a few; honey, sugar, soy sauce and rice. All of those could last indefinitely given the right conditions.

The Drunken Dragon was anything but the right conditions. Damp and musty inside, he found what sugar was left in the store had long since hardened into a brick. Honey was out of the question; Jaune doubted a Mistralian restaurant would be serving anything with honey; not that he didn't look anyway. Along the way, he did manage to find some discarded pots and pans that were in relatively good shape.

"Well, these could be useful." Jaune turned one of the pots over in his hands. "Now if only I had something to cook." Scrounging around, he managed to find a few pieces of cutlery in salvageable condition. Setting those aside, he continued his search to find anything edible. After a few minutes, his wish was granted…technically.

"A gallon of soy sauce." Jaune sighed as he lifted the jug out of a cupboard. "Perfect for flavoring all that nothing we've got to eat." Jaune set it to the side with his other supplies.

Making his way to the back storeroom, he was greeted by the smell of mildew causing him to wretch. He took a moment to settle his stomach before diving back into the search. Lodged within a pile of brittle and greyed rice, he spotted it: a single bag, five pounds of unspoiled rice. Jaune picked up the bag and cradled it as one would a child. A five-pound miracle in a bag.

"We're saved!" Jaune cheered. While it wasn't much, if appropriately rationed, alongside whatever plants and game could be foraged, it would at least ensure they wouldn't go hungry. He collected an old bottle opener, the metal rusted but lines strong, a pair of ragged clothes from behind the bar, and headed out. It was time to leave the Drunken Dragon behind forever.

Returning back up the path, he set his precious finding down carefully on the porch of a nearby bungalow, ensuring the plastic seal didn't tear. With some time and effort, he gathered up several large rocks and set them up in a ring on the ground. In the middle of them, he dug out a small pit with one of the more useful stones and pocketed the rock he spent most of his time looking for. Retrieving some of the logs that Yang had chopped earlier, he organized them in the center of the pit, and then he gathered up some plants to create the tinder under it.

Now came the trickier part. With the bottle opener's help, he did his best to shred the unraveling cloth, then gathered the remains close to his collected stone. Using the close strikes his father had taught him years ago, he brought the bottle opener down across the stone. He'd been rusty at this last year, but his fire-starting skills had gotten a strong refresher with RNJR. Soon, he was drawing sparks, and loose cloth strands eventually took, smoking and burning lightly. Wary of the tinder's state, Jaune fed it to the needles and twigs he'd gathered, slowly building up the flames into a steady but small fire beneath the palms.

He let out a relieved cheer as the palm wood took, the growing fire moving up the stacked logs. He knew the freshly cut wood wouldn't burn well, but right now, wood was their only resource in abundance. Once the fear of the fire dissipating ended, Jaune moved to retrieve a larger supply. He returned to find a thick, black smoke roiling from his pit, and Jaune rushed forward.

"Damn it!" Jaune coughed as he staggered away from the smoke cloud. Apparently, palm wood did not burn clean. With a heavy sigh, Jaune regained his composure. He had camped out for months with RNJR, making a fire should be easy. He rolled up his sleeved and braved the smoke.

This island would not defeat him.

#####

When Yang staggered out of the luxury suites, she breathed deeply upon exiting, filling her lungs with fresh air…that reeked of smoke.

"What the?" Her eyes widened as she saw the giant plume of smoke coming from somewhere among the bungalows. Sprinting, she ran to its source. There she found Jaune ranting and swearing up a storm, as he was breaking up a wooden chair and throwing the pieces onto a heavily smoking fire pit.

"Ha, you think you can beat me fire?" Jaune taunted his hated foe. "Well, I'm going to teach you who your maker is!" Jaune fanned the fire, gathering aura in his hand to knock some of the smoking logs from the pile.

"Having fun, Jaune?" Yang shouted out, a wide grin on her face as she set her bundle down.

"Oh I'm having a blast; can you give me a hand here." Jaune griped as he tried to get the fire under control. A metallic clunk sounded at his feet; looking down, he saw Yang's golden mechanical arm. "Oh, real mature Yang!" Jaune sighed as Yang cackled greatly, amused by her joke.

"Fine, fine." Yang walked over to retrieve her arm and snapped it back into place. After a few minutes, the two of them managed to get the fire under control, and Jaune managed to get a pot of water boiling to cook some of the rice that he had discovered.

"So, what did you find?" Jaune asked as he sat down next to the fire.

"I found a few things." Yang grabbed her bucket and presented her haul. "The bucket obviously, and a few plastic shovels. They're kid's toys, but better than nothing." She dug through the bucket some more. "Some clothing that isn't in particularly good shape, but could be useful: some swimsuits, too. We'll eventually have to get wet, and maybe we can repurpose it into something if needed."

"Uh huh." Jaune nodded absentmindedly, stirring the contents of the pot with a spoon he had retrieved.

"I didn't know your size, so I took a guess and grabbed a few pairs for you." Yang set the swimsuits aside, taking a moment to give a disgusted look at the suit she found for herself before tossing it aside. "I found a hammer and some nails in a janitor's closet, not much else though. Most of the suites themselves have already been stripped bare. Whatever happened here the people who lived here had time to take their belongings, or at least what they could carry. Plenty of furniture though, but I wouldn't trust the beds: they reeked."

"Uh huh." Jaune replied again, still tending his pot.

"Wow, such a stunning conversationalist." Yang snarked with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm starving, Yang." Jaune snapped.

"Okay, okay jeez." Yang held up her hands defensively.

"Sorry…" Jaune sighed. "Still not feeling very good."

"It's fine, you were right drinking wasn't the best idea." Yang shrugged. "We lost most of the day cause we were passed out."

"Yeah…" Jaune whispered as he took the pot off the fire, his gaze unfocused. Thoughts of what he had learned about his former partner racing through his head.

"Jaune?" Yang said with a hint of concern in her voice. "Do you want to talk…"

"No." Jaune cut her off.

"Okay." Yang nodded. She fidgeted in place a little. "So fearless leader, what did you want to try and accomplish tomorrow?" she asked not so subtly changing the subject. Jaune gave a slight smile, appreciating that Yang knew when to drop a topic.

"I'm going to see what I can scrounge up in the jungle; see if there are any edible plants or small game I can hunt."

"What are you going to do? Go hunting with a sword?" Yang asked slightly amused. The image of Jaune running around the island, chasing a rabbit with a sword was a silly one.

"You can give me your arm." Jaune pointed at her mechanical limb. "It's got a gun in it."

"No way, I need this." She clutched the arm defensively.

"But Yang..." Jaune leaned forward slightly, his eyes meeting hers. "I thought you wanted to give me a hand." He stared at her his face a passive mask of seriousness. The longer he stared, the funnier it became, before Yang burst out laughing.

"Watch it buster; puns are my job!" She said, holding her side.

"Yeah, you're a regular employee of the month." Jaune laughed as he gently tipped the pot on its side to drain the water without spilling the rice: a strainer had unfortunately not been one of the utensils he'd found. Once the water was sufficiently drained, he mixed in some of the soy sauce. "Didn't find any bowls so hope you don't mind sharing." Jaune held out a spoon to her.

"Thanks." Yang took the spoon from him, looking into the pot, she licked her lips. She had never thought simple white rice and sauce could look so appetizing. Digging in, they both made short work of what she would have normally called a small side of rice. The instant it was gone, Yang was hungry for more.

"Hey Jaune, do you think you could make another serving?"

"What?" Jaune looked at her like she had grown another head. "This has to last, Yang. I only found five pounds. If we ration this right, we can make it last maybe four weeks, so we can't indulge."

"You really think we'll be here that long?" Yang asked hugging her knees to her chest.

"I don't know, Yang." Jaune set the pot to the side. "Hopefully, we should be rescued soon, but I like to be prepared for the worse. Guess I'm not much of an optimist these days."

"Nope." Yang chuckled. "But I'm glad to have you with me. It would suck being here all alone."

"Same here." Jaune nodded. They enjoyed the fire in the evening for a while, but Yang wanted a better picture of their plan.

"So, hunting?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, got to be something to hunt on this island." Jaune shrugged.

"Alright then, mighty hunter, I guess I can teach you how to shoot Ember Celica."

"Really?" Jaune perked up at that.

"Yeah, then you can go catch something and cook me dinner." Yang gave a wide grin.

"Ha, sure I'll be your personal chef." Jaune laughed. They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, working to put out the fire and clean up their makeshift campsite. Gathering their supplies, they made their way to one of the bungalows that they had inspected the previous day. This particular one being furthest from the beach and seemed a little more structurally sound than the others, it only had one hole in its ceiling, which automatically made it better than the others. They placed their supplies on the kitchen counter.

"You know when this place was new, I would have loved to vacation here." Yang commented. "Not that I could have afforded it."

"Well, now you can enjoy its majesty for free." Jaune smirked before yawning. "We should turn in; we have an early day tomorrow."

"Probably…" Yang mused. It wasn't that late by Yang's judgment, not that she had any real clue what time it was. But the sun was already low in the sky, and there wasn't anything they would be able to do in the dark of night. They really had burned away most of the day because of her oh so wise decision to get sloshed.

"Yep, hopefully, the sun will be bright enough to wake me up in the morning." Jaune flopped down on a couch that let out a cloud of dust as he sat. After a slight coughing fit, he regained his composure. "I guess I'll take out here. You can have the bedroom."

"Wow such a gentleman, I figured you would be trying to sleep with me again." Yang said in a teasing manner.

"Not falling for that, Yang." Jaune laid down on the couch.

"Aww, you're no…" Yang stopped as she had noticed he fell asleep almost immediately. "Good night, Jaune." She whispered. She turned and made her way into the master bedroom. The bed was dusty, worn, and not exactly pleasant; it offended several of her senses just by sitting down on it. But it was better than nothing. Popping off her arm she set it on the bedside table and crawled under the salvaged covers.

"Four weeks…" She whispered to no one. Jaune had already thought that far ahead; while she could barely comprehend what tomorrow would bring; hopefully an airship, she thought. But even if it took a month to be rescued, she was oddly not as worried as she would have been. She had Jaune with her. That fact was strangely comforting as she drifted off to sleep.

Tomorrow was another day.

* * *

Another chapter down, sorry it's been so long. I was working on finishing other projects, which if you follow me you're aware of and if you don't, I'm happy to say that Trapped my White Knight story is now complete.

I would also like to add how shocked I am. I never expected this story to be as well received as it was. Thanks for all the support. As always read and review.


	4. Day 3

**Last Resort**

Day 3

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetheling

* * *

A bloodcurdling scream jolted Jaune from his sleep.

"What!" Jaune sat bolt upright after being shocked awake. Another panicked scream pierced through the night. "Yang!?" he called worriedly. Rolling off the couch, he rather ungracefully navigated through the darkened room, only lit by the faintest glimmer of moonlight.

"Yang!?" he called again as he stumbled into her room. He found his friend flailing in her sleep, her blonde hair alight, bathing the room in a harsh glow. He was by her side in an instant. "Yang wake up; you're okay." He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. That's when Yang's eyes snapped open, glowing a burning red.

"No!" she howled as her fist smashed into his face sending him reeling. She stared for a moment panting, her whole body drenched in a cold sweat. That's when her gaze fell to what was left of her right arm. "My arm!" she gasped. "Where is it?" she began to panic again. Jaune staggered to his feet and rushed back to her.

"Yang, look at me!" Jaune commanded softly yet sternly. Her panicked red eyes met his, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." He whispered. "You're safe, Yang." Her eyes widened, and for a moment he prepared to take another blow. Instead, he saw her red eyes fade to lilac, the fire of her semblance slowly burning down.

"Jaune?" Yang whispered a little confused. "Why are you…Jaune, you're bleeding!"

"What?" Jaune brought his hand up to his face to find a small trickle of blood leaking out of his nose. "Must have tripped on my way in, don't worry about it."

"I hit you, didn't I?" Yang interrupted.

"Maybe a little." Jaune chuckled. "You had a bad dream, I guess."

"Yeah…" Yang whispered averting his gaze. "Sorry, I hit you."

"It's fine."

"No it isn't!" Yang snapped. "I shouldn't have…this shouldn't have happened. I should be over this, right? We've got a world to save; I have more important things to worry about." Tears formed in her eyes. "I…I…"

"Yang, I don't know everything that happened with you, back at Beacon." Jaune whispered. She started to open her mouth to respond, but Jaune cut her off. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. But what happened to you, what happened to all of us? It isn't just going to go away because we want it too. We all still feel it: even Nora. It's okay to be scared, it's okay to cry."

"I'm not crying." Yang said angrily. "It's just hot, and I'm sweating." A brisk night breeze blew through the bungalow as she spoke.

"Alright, you're sweating like a pig then." Jaune chuckled. This earned him a soft punch in the ribs.

"Jerk!" Yang snapped while at the same time smiling. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Yang."

"Jaune… do you mind staying here a little bit longer, at least till I fall back asleep."

"Of course." Yang laid back down on the bed, and Jaune slipped in next to her.

"Look away from me." Jaune looked at her confused but turned away from her. He then felt her single arm wrap around his waist, her face pressed into his back. That was when he heard her sob softly. He wanted to turn to face her, but then again why would he need to? It's not like she was crying.

It was a hot night after all.

 _#####_

Yang made her way through the jungle just as the sun started to filter through the leaves. She had snuck out earlier while Jaune was still asleep. Bucket in hand, she stepped out onto the beach; the very beach that she and Jaune had crawled up onto only a few days ago. She didn't need to be here, she could have gone to the beach next to the resort, but she would rather not see Jaune right now.

"I thought I had this under control." She sighed as she set the bucket down; She hadn't had a nightmare in at least two months. "So, why now?"

Was it the stress of the situation, the lack of any real distraction? Whatever the reason, she hoped it wouldn't happen again; there were very few people she allowed herself to cry in front of, and Jaune was not one of them. No offense to him; she was actually quite thankful he was understanding enough to not push the issue. Fishing through her bucket, she looked over what she had brought with her. Two of the smaller buckets and shovels, the swimsuit she had found as well as some of the extra pairs she had grabbed for material, and a few of the nails she had found.

She retrieved two of the bikini tops she had found, tied them together, and examined the knot; seeing it was tight enough, she pulled out a nail from the bucket. Holding it firm in her left hand, she used her mechanical right to slowly and carefully bend the nail until it was a hook shape. She then tied it as tightly as she could to the pair of bikini tops.

"I hope this works." Yang mused as she inspected her handiwork. It wasn't much, but the contraption she concocted might just work as a crude fishing line. "Hmm, I need some bait."

Placing her creation back into the bucket, she retrieved one of the toy shovels and walked a short ways back into the jungle, digging at the base of a tree. After a few minutes of searching, she'd found a few worms that should work nicely.

Returning to the bucket, she placed the worms in it to keep them from escaping. Bending down, she undid her boots and kicked them off before removing her socks. Stowing her boots next to the bucket, she then pulled her shirt over her head and slid out of her pants. Standing there in her underwear, she then did a quick scan of her surroundings. Logically, she knew that no one else but Jaune was on the island, and she doubted he would come stumbling out of the jungle at this exact moment. Even if he did, she wouldn't be so petty as to be mad at him for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Here goes nothing." Yang said after taking a deep breath. Quickly discarding her bra and panties, she retrieved the swimsuit she had found yesterday. She stared at it, briefly entertaining whether she would rather be caught naked rather than be caught wearing the clashing of colors that some "designer" thought was a swimsuit. Sighing heavily, she pulled on the swimsuit, a little disheartened that it fit perfectly. Now dressed to swim, she retrieved her makeshift swimming line and one of the worms she had found.

"Sorry little guy." She said to the worm before piercing it onto the hook, closing her eyes as she did so. With her line baited she waded out into the water.

"Alright sea gods, you took my bike, so you owe me this." She cast the line out into the water as best as she could.

Hopefully luck would be with her this day.

 _#####_

Jaune's eyes cracked open just as the sun's light began to fill the bungalow, sitting up with a stretch and a yawn.

"Morning, Yang." Jaune muttered, rubbing the last little bits of sleep from his eyes. "Yang?" He blinked as he looked behind him to see his fellow blonde gone. Standing, he looked around the bungalow, but Yang was nowhere to be found. Seeing that one of the buckets she had found were gone, he assumed she must have gone foraging. "She could have at least said something." Jaune sighed.

Truth be told, he was a little worried about her; he never would have expected to see Yang Xiao Long in a state like that. The Happy-go-lucky, headstrong party girl reduced to tears. But the fall of Beacon had affected every one of them. Some more so than others: they had all lost something that day. He had lost Pyrrha, and that still weighed heavily on him. Yang though? She had lost a part of herself, and he couldn't even begin to comprehend what that must be like.

Deciding it would be better to give Yang her space, he picked up one of the buckets she had found and, strapped his sword to his belt, made his way into the jungle. There had to be something he could forage, right?

The most obvious things were the palm trees; several appeared to be coconut palms, to his relief. Unfortunately, he had no way of climbing the tree to get to them beyond his bare hands. He entertained the thought of chopping it down, but if they did that, it would mean destroying potentially renewable food. He wandered off in search of some other food source, thinking about ways he could more easily harvest the coconuts from the palms without eventually deforesting the island.

That was when he heard some rustling in the nearby undergrowth. Some kind of animal perhaps? Some real meat would do them both some good. Setting the bucket down, he tiptoed through the trees.

He made a mental note that, as he got deeper into the island, the trees changed from palm to hardwood: they could harvest firewood for aging here. Peeking around a tree, he saw his quarry; several iguanas casually munching away on some vegetation, completely unaware and at peace. Steadying himself, he unsheathed Crocea Mors; this would be so much easier if he had a sling or something similar. Perhaps he could fashion one out of some of the material they had found the other day? Would a bikini top make a good sling? Maybe he could cobble together a throwing spear? Whatever that didn't matter. Gripping his sword tightly, he ran out from his hiding place, sprinting at his prey as fast as he could.

 _SQUELCH_

The odd sound echoed throughout the relatively silent island. Looking down he saw he had impaled one of the lizards through the neck. Its leg twitched slightly as the last of its life left its eyes and its compatriots scattered.

"Well, that went better than expected." Jaune looked down at his kill. While on the road to Mistral, he had hunted all manner of small game: rabbits, squirrels, birds and even the odd rat every so often were on the menu. But iguana?

"How do I eat you?" he asked the creature, as he removed his sword. It didn't matter, he would figure out something; now he just needed more.

The hunt was only beginning.

 _#####_

The ocean waves crashed against the shore, the late afternoon sun shining down. The breeze rustled through the branches, and the waves lapped lazily along the sand.

A shark burst through the water's surface. Its jaw opened wide to attack before it flew through the air as a pair of angry red eyes broke the surface behind it.

"AAAAGH!" Yang let out a scream of rage and frustration as she stamped through the surf. "Try and make a meal out of me will you?" He robotic arm made contact with the shark's side, stunning the defenseless predator. "Stupid shark, made me lose my line!" Dragging the fish up the beach, she gathered up her bucket and clothes. Not bothering to get dressed, she pulled on her boots and slinging the shark over her shoulder she stamped angrily through the jungle. The giant fish occasionally twitched and shuddered, but she hauled it along without a care for its fight.

Making her way back to the resort, she stumbled onto Jaune, who had managed to set up a fire _without_ filling the island with smoke this time.

"Hey, Yang…The hell is that?" Jaune spat out, pointing at the shark. She slammed the shark on the ground, her eyes still blazing.

"This…dinner…now!" Yang panted out.

"Uh huh." Jaune nodded slowly. "So, do you want to help me with…" he motioned to the shark. "With, you know, this."

"Hey, I caught it." Yang crossed her arms over her chest. "I think I've done more than enough."

"Okay…" Jaune poked at the shark. "Then you do you mind helping me with the rest of dinner? Do you know how to clean or prepare iguana?"

"What?" Yang blinked her confusion overriding her anger as her eyes faded back to lilac. Looking over at Jaune she saw the corpses of three iguanas. "Huh? Please don't tell me that's what's for dinner?"

"Well yeah I caught them; it's not like I expected you to go full amazon and punch out a shark. Now, I have to figure out how to clean and prepare a shark."

"Well, I don't know how either." Yang shrugged.

"Can you watch the pot and cook the rice?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Yang sauntered over to the fire.

"Nice suit." Jaune snickered as Yang walked past him, for the first time noticing her unflattering attire.

"Shut up, it was the only one that fit." Yang snapped.

"Really?" Jaune commented as he turned back to the meat he had gathered, picking up a dull knife.

"Jaune, you have no idea how hard it is to find properly sized swimwear when you're a girl." Yang replied while throwing a bit more kindling on the fire. "I have two separate sizes to worry about. The bottoms all worked out; the tops on the other hand?"

"Well, you found that one piece, right? Just wear one of those, then you only have to worry about one size right?"

"Jaune please…" Yang smirked. "Does this…" she motioned down to herself as she talked. "Look like a body that deserves just a one piece."

"Well, a bikini bottom is technically a one piece when you think about it." Jaune chuckled.

"Did you just…" Yang's words died as she watched Jaune cut into one of the iguanas he had found. The blade slowly dragged through its body causing some of its blood to trickle out.

"Did I just what, Yang?" Jaune asked as he continued skinning the iguana, guts now starting to spill out of it.

"Nothing…" She shook her head dismissively. "I just remembered though." She walked over to her bucket, her eyes very obviously trying to not look in Jaune's direction. "I really need a bath, and to wash my clothes in the pool."

"Yang, you can worry about that after dinner."

"What?" she still refused to face him. "And get salt on everything? I just feel gross, Jaune." She practically sprinted away from him. "I'll be right back!"

"Yang, wait!" Jaune shouted after but she was already gone. With a weary sigh he turned back to his work. He would have to have a talk with her later about taking all this seriously.

 _#####_

Sometime later, Yang wandered back into camp, and Jaune noticed that she was now wearing the sundress she had found on their first day here, though her hair was still wet; a hair dryer was obviously among the luxuries they lacked on the island, along with power.. Without a word, she went back to the pot to check it, as if no time had passed. But it had already been removed from the fire, drained, and was ready for consumption.

"Feeling better?" Jaune asked bitterly as he gazed into the fire a few pieces of meat from the iguanas currently being roasted over it, impaled on some sticks.

"Uhhh, yeah, a lot better actually." Yang smiled, chuckling nervously, hoping to deflect some of Jaune's ire. "A bath felt really good, the water was cold but other than that it was just what the doctor ordered." Sitting down on the ground, smoothing out her skirt as she did so. "So, how long until dinner's done cooking?"

"You'd know if you actually helped out with it." Jaune said his voice was dripping with venom. "But no, you had to have a bath. That's what took priority."

"Hey, I helped out!" Yang yelled defensively. "I caught a shark, Jaune!" she motioned to the shark still where she left it.

"That's great Yang. Now, what do I do with it?"

"You cook it?" Yang asked confused.

"How?" Jaune threw his hands up in frustration. "I have a dull knife as my only equipment. It was hard enough preparing those damn lizards with it. It can barely cut the sharks skin. Even if I knew what to do and had the proper equipment, there's at least thirty pounds of meat there that we have no way to preserve."

"Why don't you use your sword?" Yang suggested.

"I mean I could hack it to pieces but then it wouldn't exactly be in good condition to eat either." Jaune let out a groan of frustration. "If I just try and gut it with Crocea Mors, I might nick the guts and spoil the meat: I can't use a freaking _sword_ for that."

"What if…" Yang began to muse bringing her hand to her chin. "Now stay with me on this, Jaune, it's a weird one. What if you harvest the shark's teeth and use them to cut up the shark? Sharks bite other sharks, so we know the teeth are sharp enough?" Jaune's eyes lit up.

"That's ingenious, Yang!" Yang couldn't help but smile at his words. There were many adjectives that could be applied to her; she never thought ingenious would be among them. "It sounds super dumb, but it may just work!" Well, that spoiled a bit of the mood.

"We can try it after dinner. But for now." Retrieving a stick of meat from the fire he held it out to her. "Dinner is served."

"Great…" Yang grimaced as she reached out and took it from him while eyeing the mysterious piece of meat warily. "Well, bottoms up." They both took a bite, slowly chewing and then swallowing.

"Huh?" Yang looked at the scrap of meat confused.

"Yeah." Jaune seemed to nod in agreement. "Not what I thought it would taste like either."

"It's almost…fishy." Yang mused as she took another bite. "Like, it isn't amazing." Another bite.

"Well, not much to work with." Jaune nibbled at it some more. "Maybe if we had some kind of spice." After finishing up the meal of meat and rice, Jaune stood and gathered up the supplies. "Do you mind washing out the pot and other supplies?"

"Sure, I'll carry a bit of my weight." She stood smoothing out her skirt as she did so.

"Yeah, I figured while you do that, I can take care of the shark." Jaune handed her the bundle of supplies, giving her a knowing look.

"Jaune I…" Yang began as she took the supplies from him.

"Yang, I don't know what's going on exactly. Like I said earlier, if you want to talk, I'll listen; if you don't, well I'll ignore it with you. So, go clean up."

"Sure." Yang whispered averting her gaze. "Thanks…" she turned and made her way back to the pool.

"Hey, Yang!" she turned back towards Jaune.

"Yeah?"

"Should take about an hour, just thought you should know."

"Thanks." Yang nodded before walking off.

Jaune turned back towards the shark.

"Okay." He removed his hoodie, this could get messy. "Let's do this."

 _######_

Yang made her way back to the campsite, the supplies she took with her now fresh and clean. She found Jaune still by the fire, a few large chunks of meat set up to be well above the flames, Jaune setting a few pieces of palm wood on the fire.

"Isn't that just going to make a smoking mess?" Yang eyed him and the fire curiously.

"That's kind of the point." Jaune glanced up at her. "There's too much here for us to eat in one sitting, and we have no way of preserving it. So I thought it would try and smoke it."

"Oh?" Yang sat down next to him. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I don't." Jaune shook his head. "For all I know I'm about to destroy thirty pounds or so of meat."

"Well I can always punch out another if you want?" Yang smirked. "I apparently make good bait."

"Everyone wants a piece of you, apparently." Jaune chuckled a little.

"As they should!" Yang posed placing her hand on her hip, the other behind her head. "Who wouldn't want some of this?"

"I don't." Jaune smirked.

"That's cause you're weird." Yang stuck her tongue out at him.

"Not wrong." Jaune replied with a shrug.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Yang relaxed and stared back at the fire. "If you weren't here I'd have starved to death by now…or worse." She hugged her knees to her chest.

"You'd have been fine, Yang. You _did_ just punch out a shark."

"Would I have…" Yang sighed as she hugged herself tighter. "This morning if you weren't there…I'm not sure what would have happened."

"You're a lot stronger than I am, Yang. You would have been fine."

"I'm not stronger than you Jaune…not on that end." Yang's hands clenched gripping onto her skirt. "I shouldn't be letting this bothering me. I've got more important things to worry about. I have to get off this island, and I have to get home to Ruby…gods, she must be worried sick."

"Yang!" Jaune interjected catching her attention. "You…you lost a part of yourself. No amount of fancy Atlesian Tech is going to replace that. Nothing's wrong with being worried."

"Thanks, Jaune." Yang gave him a weak smile. "For everything you're doing and everything you're not doing."

"Not doing?" Jaune looked at her confused.

"If what happened this morning happened back in Mistral." Yang glanced up into the sky. "Ruby would have been fretting over me all day, crowding me. Weiss would have forced some kind of talk on me, and Qrow would have been watching me like a hawk. So I appreciate you giving me some space."

"Oh…Well, anytime Yang. You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the shark meat smoke.

"How do you think the others are doing?" Yang broke the silence.

"Probably worried…Nora on the warpath trying to find us. Ren is trying to keep her calmed down. But he's probably just as worried. Maybe more."

"Ruby's probably paced a hole in the floor by this point. Weiss would put on a brave face for her and is probably micromanaging the rescue effort. Qrow is probably off getting drunk."

"Isn't that what he always does anyway?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Fine, more drunk than usual." Yang commented with a roll of her eyes. "Maybe Ozpin can cast a magic spell and find us."

"I doubt that's how magic works; if it were that useful he would have won his stupid war by now." Jaune spat out dismissively, and Yang looked at him curiously. She wanted to ask him about his seeming distaste for Ozpin, but he had been kind enough not to ask her about this morning: she would return the favor.

"Sounds about right." Yang agreed. "You seem to have a pretty good head about all this wilderness crap; was roughing it with 'Team RNJR' really so tough?" Jaune chuckled lightly, looking off to the sky.

"It was good practice, but I picked a lot of this stuff up way before then. My whole family used to go on camping trips; why my parents thought dragging eight kids into the wilderness was a good idea, I don't know, but I picked up a lot of outdoorsmanship. Dad probably didn't mean for it to be used in situations like _this_ , of course." Yang laughed with him then, but something caught her attention.

"Wait… what do you mean, eight kids?" Jaune's chuckle was a nervous one then, his eyes flicking away from her as best they could.

"Well, you see… I might… have… seven sisters." Jaune rushed the end out, as if Yang would miss it, but she didn't. Oh boy, did she not miss it.

"Jaune? Spill."

After being grilled extensively about camping trips and too many sisters, Jaune decided the meat had been smoked enough as the Sun started to hang low in the cloudy sky. He and Yang both got the fire under control and used another of the buckets to store the meat. Hopefully, it would hold up well, if not, perhaps it could be used as bait to capture more of them.

Clearing out there campsite, they made their way back to their shared bungalow As the sun began to set. Yang noted that rain looked to be a possibility in the future, which would suck with their airy roof; they could tarp it tomorrow. As they settled into their respective beds, Yang felt a little more at peace than she had been expected.

She wasn't alone, she would survive and so would Jaune. After all, how much longer would it really be?

She was lulled to sleep by the gentle tone of the wind, and soft crash of waves against the beach. The soft rumble of thunder sounded almost imperceptibly in the distance.

Nightmares did not find her this night.

* * *

Another chapter down, and another day on the island for Yang and Jaune. Once again thank all of you for your support, the fic has recently just passed 400 follows and 60 reviews. I am absolutely floored at how well this story has been received.

Special thanks goes to my beta Aetheling they a huge help to my writing process. Check out their profile for some good stories as well as an interesting side project known as "The Legacy of Bleiss: A Discord anthology" its a group project with chapters by several writers including my myself. Check it out.


	5. Day 7

**Last Resort**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetheling and Imyoshi

Day 7

* * *

Yang trudged through the undergrowth of the jungle, brushing aside branches and leaves in her way. She was making her way to the beach once more to fish; bucket in hand, , a determined look in her eyes.

It had been a few days since she had managed to capture that shark, and Jaune had even managed to smoke it somewhat successfully. Sure, half the meat had been burned to charcoal, but that had still given them a few meals. They were beginning to run low, though, and she was becoming sick of what had become staples of her diet. Iguana, coconut, and rice had fast become some of her most hated foods, it's all she'd had for days.

Her lack of success on her last few forays into the ocean had made it clear the shark was just luck though.. Her prowess as a fisherwoman was now seriously in question, and that was something that she would not let stand.

But today was the day that would change; she had a secret weapon. Setting the bucket on the ground at her feet, she retrieved the stick she had lashed to her back. Cradling it in her hands, she admired it the crude spear fashioned from the straightest piece of driftwood she could find and tipped with a shark's tooth. That part had been especially difficult and was mostly the result of trial and error.

Fortunately or perhaps, unfortunately, time was something that she had a surplus of. But she had finally figured out how to keep the tooth secured with a combination of some harvested fabric and tree sap from a palm.

She gripped the makeshift weapon tight and made a few mock thrusts to test the balance and feel of it: not great, but she could work with it This would surely net her a fish or two.

Well spear her a fish or two, she doubted she could ever manage to construct a net.

After testing the spear a few more times, she gazed down at it. She felt strangely proud that she had created something like this, considering she wielded perhaps some of the most advanced technology around in her guntlets. Well, besides her shiny new arm, but this simple wood and bone spear was something she had created; it was something wholly unique to her. Was this how Ruby felt every time she held her scythe? If it was well, she certainly could understand her younger sister's enthusiasm towards weapons now.

"Alright." She smiled while gripping the spear tightly. "Time for a test run."

Bending over, she reached into her bucket and pulled out some scraps of fabric and used them to tie her hair up into a ponytail. As much as she preferred to let her hair fly free, swimming underwater would cause it to splay out and cloud her field of view. Dramatic, but not pragmatic.

Preparations complete, she began to wade into the surf. Once she was up to her shoulders, she took a deep breath and dived beneath the surface. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to being underwater. While her vision was somewhat blurred, she could still see the brilliant colors of the reef around the island. Yellows, blues, pinks, greens and a myriad other colors assaulted her senses. The resort would have been amazing in its heyday, but now? Not so much.

She needed to survive, Jaune needed to survive.

A flash of brilliant yellow caught her attention, a large tropical fish darted around just off to her left. Her target sighted, she swam out towards it slowly, raising her spear she prepared to strike. With a quick motion the spear jabbed forward, it should have been a direct hit, but the spear lurched to the side suddenly, missing its mark.

Swimming to the surface she inhaled deeply refreshing her air supply. Holding her right arm up, she studied it intently. Everything seemed to be alright. She opened and closed her fist a few times, listening carefully to the gears and machinery hum as was to be expected. A few more experimental moves of her arm and it did exactly as she wanted.

"Maybe I'm just imagining things."

The arm whirred as she extended it out then pulled it back. A few more minutes of flexing the arm and she was satisfied that it would no longer be disobedient she took hold of her spear. Taking another deep breath, she dived beneath the water's surface once more.

 _#####_

Jaune sighed as he climbed the hill overlooking the resort.

"Seven days." He shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked out over the island and surrounding sea. Nothing but blue water stretched out in every direction and not a single sign of any boats or airships, no sign of rescue. Were they even being looked for?

He shook his head. Of course, they were being looked for. Ruby, Ren, Nora, and Weiss would never give up searching for them. The problem being that they most likely had no clue where to look. He had no idea how far he and Yang had swum to find this island on their first night; it could have been miles, it certainly felt that way at the time!

Looking from the hilltop, he took time to study the island; the resort only took up a small percentage of the total space. Behind him was the jungle they had traipsed through on their first day. The center of the island arced upwards into some taller hills, maybe something he could generously call a mountain.

"It would take all day to climb up there and back." He mused while studying his surroundings. A trek like that would take investment; he'd have to bring enough food to stay overnight if he spent a long time up there. Unfortunately, those were resources they didn't have right now.

They were surviving alright; they had enough rice still and he'd become a master of catching iguanas, although they were starting to get wise to him. He'd have to come up with a more clever hunting strategy than "run at them and stab with sword" soon.

Taking one last look out over the ocean he noticed dark clouds ominously in the distance. Storm clouds…he'd better keep an eye on that; hopefully, it would just pass them by, but he'd have to be prepared in case a storm hit.

Walking down the hill, he made his way down to the beach; today's plan was a simple walk around the circumference of the island to see if there were any other structures to raid. It was odd that there were no remains of a pier by the resort. Perhaps everyone came by airship, but a boat seemed like the most likely means of transport. So maybe there would be a dock further down, maybe even a boat?

Given his luck he doubted that.

Trudging along the beach, he tugged at his collar as the hot tropical sun bore down on him. Sighing, he pulled his hoodie over his head. The island's weather was extreme. Once the sun went down, it could become downright chilly, but during the day it was almost sweltering and as much as hated to admit it his favorite hoodie was something of a hindrance right now. Tying it around his waist, he continued on.

The beach was a sight; with its soft white sand, beautiful blue water and lush tropical trees. the kind of place that his family would have never been able to visit. They had always gone camping instead, but at least that was paying off now; all the skills he learned as a kid and on the road to Mistral were keeping him and Yang alive.

Walking along he continued circling the perimeter of the island. Eventually, he saw a few dilapidated structures in the distance, running up to it he saw it was series of sheds.

"This must be the groundskeeper's station."

He went up to the nearest shed and pried it open. Going inside he found it covered with dust and cobwebs. Rummaging around he saw a hammerhead but no handle. It was better than nothing, but perhaps he could carve one? Stowing the hammerhead in his pocket, he continued his search.

Maybe, just maybe, he'd strike gold.

 _#####_

Yang staggered back onto the beach. Her efforts had been for naught. Not only had she not caught anything, her precious spear came apart after about half an hour. She had spent hours trying to figure out how to lash that spear together, and now it was just lost out there. Well, most of it. She looked down at the shark tooth clutched tightly in her hands.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, but when the spear had broken, she had frantically searched for the missing tooth. She had plenty of others back at camp, but this one it just felt important to her. Maybe she'd knocked it loose with that uppercut of hers, maybe it had been one they used to cut the shark? She didn't know, but she stowed the tooth in her bucket and sat back letting the sun dry her.

"I'll say this; this place is perfect for my tan." She stretched out, basking in the bright tropical sun.

Well, at least it would be if she had a more appropriate swimsuit. She'd kill for a bikini right now…unless. She shook her head. No! That was a stupid idea what if someone…well, Jaune was the only other person on the island. He hadn't bothered her while she fished before. He spent most of his time scrounging around the resort for supplies and trying to clean up the resort. And she did need to dry off more properly.

Taking one last nervous look around, she slid down the straps of her swimsuit, baring her chest to the world; she continued until her suit rested just below her navel, she didn't dare take it off all the way, though the thought of an all over tan was tempting. Lying back, she put her hands behind her head. This was perhaps the most relaxed she had felt since she had crashed down on this gods-forsaken island.

"Mmmm." She sighed and flipped over onto her stomach after a few minutes; the girls had gotten enough attention for now. Snuggling into her arms to keep her face out of the sand,the warm sun and the rhythmic sound of the waves behind her slowly lured her to sleep.

 _#####_

Jaune exited the last of the supply sheds; his finds had been meager at best. A hammerhead with no handle, a semi-rusted hatchet that might still be usable and some more nails. While he doubted they would be building things anytime soon, they could still prove useful. He could still put his hoodie to use in the heat and dropped his discoveries into the pockets..

He looked up to the sky and found himself wishing he had a watch; how long had it been since he and Yang woke up? How long would it be until it ? How long until he lost track of the days?o far it had been seven, but would he bother to keep track after fifteen? After thirty?! How long would it be until rescue came? Would they even be rescued?

He shook his head, of course, they would be. There was no way he'd be doomed to live out the rest of his days here with Yang. At least she was here with him. The other day she had said how much she had needed him, but truth be told, he needed her just as much. If Yang wasn't here to punch all negativity into oblivion while flashing a carefree smile, he might have given up days ago.

Just one more thing in his life to have gone wrong.

Getting stranded alone would have been the last straw, he might have broken under the pressure.

He made his way back to the resort and the bungalow that was their current base.

"Yang!" he looked around for his fellow blonde.

She was usually back from her fishing trips by now, but he started making dinner without spotting her. If Yang managed to catch something he would just have to quickly add it to the menu.

Retrieving his pot from inside the bungalow, he made his way to the pool of fresh water and filled it and hung it over the fire.. Grabbing some of the rice, he poured it into the pot and started it boiling, adding in some iguana meat he had prepared from an early morning catch. There was still a little shark meat left, but he didn't want to chance using that; while the smoking had been mildly successful it wasn't what he would call a delicacy. The smoked fish was probably best served as bait or emergency rations.

The pot was coming to a nice boil and he stirred it to make sure everything was mixing properly. After a while he took it off the fire and slowly drained the water. Leaving dinner to cool, he collected a bucket and headed back to the waterfall..

Reaching the pool, he filled the bucket and brought it to his lips drinking heavily from it. His thirst slaked, he stooped down and filled the bucket again and returned to the fire.

"Ooow."

A low moan caught his attention as Yang staggered into the camp; he noticed that she was wearing her orange top along with her swimsuit, pushed down so only the bottom half was on.

"Everything okay?"

"I got sunburned." She groaned, staggering up to him.

"Let me see."

She turned around, and he saw that her shoulders and the back of her legs were bright red. Reaching out with a tentative touch, he gently brushed her shoulder.

"Ah!" she winced.

"Sorry.." examining around the fabric he pulled it away slightly. "How did you burn your whole back?"

"I may have fallen asleep sunbathing." She smiled sheepishly.

"You were supposed to be fishing!" He snapped.

"Whoa! Chill out!" She held her hands up defensively.

"Chill out!" He seethed. "Chill out, in case you haven't noticed, we're stuck on a deserted island, Yang." He wrung his hands through his hair. "This isn't a vacation; we don't have time to _chill out_!"

"Jaune, come on, I just needed…"

Jaune stamped past her and picked up the hatchet he found. "Enjoy the dinner that _I_ prepared. I'm going to go and do something that's actually useful!"

"Hey! You can't just.." Yang reached out to him but flinched when her sunburn acted up. She watched as he stormed off into the jungle.

 _#####_

Jaune stomped through the jungle in a fury. He couldn't believe that Yang would lounge around the whole day, they were supposed to be surviving! There wasn't time to take breaks and relax! So he was going to do something useful… _unlike_ her.

"I spend all day, gathering supplies." He stormed through the jungle, seeing if he could find some wood that wasn't palm. "There have to be other trees on this island."

Going deeper into the forest, he eventually found a dilapidated wooden structure; He wasn't sure what it was for, but didn't care to examine it before slamming his ax into it. It's new job was firewood and stress relief!

"Stupid Yang!" _chop!_

"Stupid island!" _chop!_

He attacked the structure until he had stripped a sizable pile of wood from it. He seized the pile and began to stomp back to the resort. _He_ had been productive! This was enough foreword for a while, and he'd found where to get more!

Placing the wood on the porch, he looked around and saw the food was exactly as he left it; Yang hadn't touched it…

"Yang?" He called out as he entered the bungalow. No reply; they couldn't just leave food put like this. He walked back to her room with her door shut as best as it could be.

He heard soft sobs coming from inside.

Jaune banged his head on the door, nerves spiking. He didn't mean to make her cry. Maybe he had just been a tad bit harsh?

Alright, he had been a complete ass.

"Are you okay?"

"No, cause I'm a complete fuck up." She griped from behind the door. "I can't catch fish; I can't even relax without screwing up. You're right, we need to work to survive."

"Look Yang…" He started to open the door. " I may have overreacted."

"Wait!" She cried out suddenly.

But it was too late… Yang was sprawled out lying face down on her bed wearing nothing but a pair of bikini bottoms; her entire back was bright red as well the backs of her legs. The only unburned parts of her were on her…were on her…well, apparently these bottoms didn't cover as much as the lower half of her one piece.

He knew he should turn; he should look away and apologize, but he was just frozen in place to shocked to move.

"Get out!" she roared while bringing her arms up around her chest despite already having her back to him.

"I'm sorry!" He bolted out of the room.

An awkward silence filled the air for several minutes and he fidgeted on the couch, trying and failing to erase the image from his mind. He was no stranger to girls' in stages of undress, but not that much. However, at the same time, she looked like she was in a massive amount of pain, nearly all of her burned. Standing up, he walked over to her door and knocked gently.

"I'm sorry." He leaned against the wall. "For blowing up at you, and for…you know."

"It's fine…I shouldn't have been trying to slack off." She called out from the other side of the door.

"Maybe…" he sighed. "But maybe I've just been stressing out too much; I haven't stopped working since we got here and that might be getting to me."

"Hey, one of us has to be responsible; otherwise you end up a lobster like me."

"Yeah, but, I think this place might be getting to us; maybe we should take a day or so to relax. well, after you get better."

"Mmhmm." A short silence followed. "Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you come in?"

"What?" He flinched now suddenly on guard. "Why?"

"I want you…" she paused, feeling a little hesitant. "I want you to check out my back, I can't check it out on my own."

"Are you…" he put his hand on the door. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

He slowly slipped inside with Yang lying face down on the bed and her arms at her sides. He tiptoed up to her, afraid she'd snap at him at any moment.

"Jaune…Before was an accident, so stop worrying." She shifted a little feeling uncomfortable. "I'd be in a lot of trouble if I just let this sit, so…I trust you."

"Okay." He nodded, moving next to her.

Examining her back, he saw the angry red of the sunburn; he was trying his best to remain calm and professional but the teenage boy he was couldn't help but notice one thing.

Yang was hot.

That may have been the understatement of the century, but it was true. Her back was well muscled and toned and even with her arms scrunched up to block his view, he still had a good view of her generous bust as it spilled out from her sides. Eyes roaming lower he noticed the red and yellow striped bottoms adorning her backside, they certainly left little to the imagination. There were small patches of unburnt skin on her…lower back. Yes, that was a proper word for it. The burn continued down her legs.

"Yang…I'm going to touch your back. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

Slowly with shaking hands, he gently pressed a finger to her back.

"Ahh!" she flinched in pain even with his feather-light touch. "Careful."

"Sorry…" he pulled his hand back. "It's not a second or third-degree burn, I think, but you're hypersensitive right now."

"I hadn't noticed." She deadpanned before turning her face to the side looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He was surprised to see her face red and not from sunburn. "What do we do?"

"Well, first you're not going anywhere for a few days, stay out of the sun as much as possible."

"Okay…" Her eyes glanced nervously around the room. "Will you be okay, working on your own, I don't want to be dead weight."

"It's fine." He took a step back from her. "I'm sure I can figure out something for you to work on in here." He walked over to the door. "I'll be back, hang tight."

"I'll try." She sighed, snuggling into her pillow.

He left the building and grabbed another small bucket. Picking up his discarded hoodie and Crocea Mors, he made a beeline to the central pool. Filling the bucket with water, he then held up his hoodie looking hesitantly at it.

One of the best ways to treat sunburn without any medication is to keep the skin cool and hydrated; unfortunately, he didn't have any towels. His hoodie meant a lot to him, he considered forlornly, but the thick cloth was almost oppressive in this environment. With a deft movement of his sword, he removed the sleeves from his hoodie and split them up the middle on one side for strips of cloth. He plunged them into the bucket to soak..

He went inside to Yang's room and found her still lying miserably on the bed

"This should help." He said as he placed the soaked strips of cloth onto her back .

"Ah!" She flinched when he came dangerously close to a certain exposed part of her body. "It's cold."

"That's the point." He gently moved the cloth over her back before moving down to her legs. "You have to keep the skin cool and moist. As well as keeping you hydrated,"

He presented the bucket of water her had retrieved earlier. "Do you think you can drink on your own? I can help you if you need it."

"Look away." She Reached out slowly with her mechanical arm as he closed his eyes, he could hear her struggle and shuffle around putting many interesting images in his head. "It's safe."

He turned back to face her, his eyes open.

"Are you hungry?" He glanced away from her trying to not focus on her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"I'll reheat dinner then." He went to leave again.

"Hey, Jaune?"

"Yes?" he turned back to face her.

"I'm sorry…" she sighed.

"Don't worry. Just focus on healing, with proper care and aura you should be up in about in two to three days."

"Okay…" she shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll be back in a bit." He walked out of the room.

 _#####_

Yang sighed as she watched Jaune leave the room. She had been so stupid and now she was paying for it. Not only was she in a lot of pain, she was embarrassed beyond belief. Jaune had just seen more of her than any boy ever had before _ever._ She buried her face in her pillow.

"Damn it."

At least he was being a gentleman about it, but it was going to get awkward as she got more mobility back. Having to constantly shift to hide her naughty bits, although once the pain subsided she could probably stand to wear a top again.

Oooor she could just say screw it and let him see?

Her face flared red again. No definitely not! That was out of the question! Shifting ever so slightly, she settled into the bed.

The next few days were going to be long and awkward.

* * *

Well it's certainly been a long time since I've updated, so sorry about that. But I've been busy with some other projects one of which is my new story Disillusioned. Check it out on my profile. I also did a chapter for a story called Weiss is Too Short to Do Things by Mallobaude. So go check that out as well. Also for those of you who like White Knight I posted a one shot/ potential short story called Drawn Together.

Also in exciting news I have official cover art by MRK50 on tumblr. I commissioned it in celebration. Over 550 followers never would I have expected that this story would be this popular.

So thank all of you for loving this story and making my day, as always read and review.

Fun little side note, look up the picture Sun Dragon by Dishwasher1910 it should give you a good idea of Jaune's view.


	6. Day 10

**Last Resort**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aethling and Darthbobcat

Day 10

* * *

"Time to check your back!" Jaune's voice snapped her out of her dozing.

"Alright." Yang nodded. She shrugged off the sheet covering her back without complaint: any embarrassment she had felt about Jaune seeing her in such a state had been forgotten days ago. He had been nothing but a gentleman since, despite how awkward this had all been.

She was especially thankful for his company; if she had been by herself, she would have died of boredom by then. She had barely moved over the last few days, only getting up when she absolutely had to, mostly at night.

"How does it feel?" He asked. Yang could feel Jaune's fingers gently stroking her back.

"A lot better." She snuggled into her pillow. "It's really itchy, though."

"Hmm, well your back is starting to peel." Jaune retrieved the soaked cloth he had brought with him. "If you want, I can try and gently wipe it off, and it'll help with the itching."

"Go nuts." Yang shrugged. Jaune began to run the cool cloth over her back. She let out a contented sigh as his hand grazed over a particular knot in her back. He moved back up to the top of her back and brought his hand down. "Oooh~"

"Can you stop that?"

"What?" She looked back at him.

"The moaning…" Jaune whispered.

"Oh?" Yang smirked.

"Yeah, it's just a little embarrassing."

"Is it now?" She teased. "Fine, I'll stop."

Jaune began working on her back again.

"Ooooh, Jaune don't stop." Yang moaned in a mocking tone.

"Yang!" Jaune protested, and she fell silent.

Just as Jaune began again, she turned it up to eleven: "Mmmm, good boy~"

She was bored, so sue her!

"You have such big strong hands Jaune." she purred

"Knock it off!" Jaune chided.

That was when Yang felt the sting of a hand on her backside, the abrupt slap cut her off and caught her entirely off guard! What was his deal?

"What the hell, Jaune!" Yang pushed herself up to glare at him. Jaune's face was red as he stared silently at her. "What?"

Jaune covered his eyes and pointed at her. Yang looked down at herself and realized that the way she had moved meant that Jaune had an unobstructed view of her breasts. She slammed herself down onto the bed.

"GET OUT!" Yang shrieked, shrinking into her bed. Jaune tripped over himself, fumbling trying to leave the room and keep his eyes averted at the same time. He left with a slam of the door, leaving a mortified Yang to stew in her thoughts.

 _######_

Jaune sprinted out of the bungalow before crashing down to sit on the porch.

"Oh, gods." He held his head in his hands, his face beet red.

He had just seen Yang topless. It was awful, it was embarrassing, and worst of all, it was _amazing_.

Jaune had never been so reminded that, despite everything he had been through, at the end of the day he was just a stupid hormonal teenager.

"Okay, Jaune." He took a deep breath. "Let's just carry on with the day."

Yeah, that would help. Burying himself in work that would get the image of...that, out of his head.

Standing up, Jaune decided to set out on his day. First things first: breakfast. There were still some coconuts he could harvest if he remembered right. Big, round, firm coconuts…

On second thought, breakfast could wait till later.

Retrieving the hatchet he had found the other day, he made his way into the jungle. They were running low on firewood - when weren't they - and destroying something should be cathartic. Making his way back to the wooden structure he had found the other night, he took a moment to study it in the full daylight.

"Looks like some kind of wall." Jaune eyed it curiously, a sizable chunk chopped out of it the other night when he was venting his frustrations. He wasn't sure why there was a wall just out here in the middle of nowhere, maybe the area had been off limits or something?

But that didn't matter now, cause now he had a whole different set of frustrations he had to take out on this pile of wood. Stepping up, he began to hack at the are he'd left off at previously.

The irony was not lost on him. If Yang were here, she would have made a joke about him beating his wood. Jaune's face flared red as thinking of his fellow blonde brought images unbidden to his mind. He had seen something forbidden, something that made his heart race.

"Damn it!" Jaune began to chop even faster and harder, hoping to drive the image from his mind.

What was he going to do? Should he apologize? Swatting her butt was probably excessive, too. Maybe avoid her? He shook his head. No, there was nowhere to stay, not until she was fully recovered and could help herself. Jaune began to painstakingly organize the wood by size and quality. A totally necessary part of the process and not meant to stall facing Yang.

With a heavy sigh, Jaune piled up the wood he had collected. Carrying it back to camp, he placed it on the porch. He looked at the door of the bungalow. He wanted to go in.

Talk to Yang.

Clear this whole mess up.

"Why am I such a coward?" Jaune griped as he turned from the door, he set about relighting the fire instead. If he was going to try and apologize, it might be best to bring lunch with him.

 _######_

Yang sat on her bed a blanket wrapped protectively around her. Jaune had just seen...he had seen.

"Damn it." Yang's face flared red as the events from earlier replayed through her mind. No boy was supposed to see those...most girls too. Contrary to what most teenage boys like to think, an all-girls dorm was not an excuse for fun sexy naked times. Jaune had also touched somewhere he was _definitely_ not allowed to. A part of her still felt the sting of his hand, in no small part to her fading sunburn.

Yang clenched her fist, the gears clicking as she did so. How _dare_ he do that. She stood up from her bed she should go find him right now and pummel him into oblivion. Grabbing her shirt she pulled it over her head. A sharp pain from the fabric brushing over her back snapped her out of her fury.

"What am I even doing?" Yang sighed as she flopped back down onto her bed. Punching Jaune in his stupid face right now would be oh so satisfying, but then what? It wouldn't do to break his whole face, and then they'd both be in no shape to do any work around the island.

"Wouldn't that be stupid." Yang mused as she stared at the dingy cracked ceiling of her room. "Here lies Jaune Arc and Yang Xiao Long." She laughed bitterly. "Starved to death from injuries caused by a tits induced beatdown." She should probably try and talk to him.

Standing slowly, Yang pulled on her top gingerly and walked across the room, flinging the door open. Jaune stood there his hand poised to knock, a bowl with food steaming in his other hand.

"Hey…" Jaune averted eye contact with her. "I brought lunch." he held out the bowl to her.

"Oh…" Yang blinked in surprise. "Thanks." she took the bowl from him. Jaune had cleared out before breakfast and somewhere beneath all those other emotions she was hungry.

"Well... enjoy." Jaune chuckled nervously before turning around.

She reached out with her other hand. "Wait!"

"Yeah?" he turned and looked back at her curiously.

"Sit." she said sternly while pointing at the bed.

"Uh...look Yang." Jaune shifted around nervously. "I still need to…"

"Sit!" she repeated with more force this time.

She watched as he hesitantly sat down on the bed the old mattress squeaking loudly under him.

"Yang...I'm sorry for seeing…"

"No." Yang shook her head.

"No, I shouldn't apologize?" His head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Oh, you're definitely apologizing buster." She scoffed, taking a bite of her favorite meal, rice with iguana meat with perhaps a hint of coconut. "But not for…" her face tinged red. "You know."

"Okay?" He brought his hand to his chin contemplating.

Yang's eyes narrowed as she glared at her fellow blonde. Did he really not know what to apologize for?

"For smacking my butt!" Yang snapped.

He blinked in confusion. "What, from this morning? You're still mad about that?"

"Excuse me?" she grit her teeth.

"What, you were teasing me?" he shrugged. "I just slipped into big brother mode and gave you a playful smack." His eyes went wide. "Oh is it because of the sunburn? I guess it would have made it hurt a lot more. So I'm sorry about that."

She seethed, incredulous at this stupid boy's reply. How could he not realize the gravity of what he did? If they had been back at Beacon he'd be paste on the wall.

"You _touched_ my butt!" Her eyes flickered red.

"And you were being a brat teasing me!" Jaune crossed his arms over his chest. "I was just trying to help you." Jaune huffed.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously her left wrist trembled. She reached over with her right to stop it. But it seized up stopping part way there.

"Damn it!" she growled, she looked down at the twitching mechanical limb.

"What's wrong?" he reached out to her only for her to slap his hand away.

"It's fine!" the limb stopped moving, she flexed it a few times. "There it was just acting up. It just needed…" the mechanical limb spasmed again, and in a panic, she shot the arm across the room. "See no arm, no problem."

"What's wrong with it?" he stood and picked up the discarded arm.

"Give me that!" she snatched the arm from his hand. Setting in on her lap she flipped a panel open. "I don't understand; this thing is supposed to stand up to anything. Waterproof and everything. I've seen toasters that need more maintenance. I've barely had to touch it."

"Barely is still more than none at all." he commented. "And I doubt several days in a sand and saltwater filled environment has been good for it."

"No shit." she rolled her eyes before intensely studying the arm. "It just needs to be flushed out with fresh water and aired. Should work as a temporary fix."

"What about a permanent fix?"

She stared forlornly at the arm. "I'd rather not think about it." that would be it if they didn't get off this island soon she would be down an arm again. She couldn't let that happen.

"I'll be right back." he stood and left leaving her to stare at the door. Wondering what he was doing, after a few minutes, he returned with a bucket of water. "Let's see if we can get it flushed out." He reached out. "Give it here."

"What?!" she clutched the arm protectively. "I'm not going to let you do it." She held out her hand. "Well give it here."

"Fine." he sighed holding the bucket out to her. She leaned forward to take it causing the arm to clatter to the floor. Yang muttered a few obscenities. "Hey, Yang do you need…"

"Don't you dare!"

"Need a hand?" he teased.

"Jaune I swear to god once I get this arm back on I will slap you."

"Doesn't give me much incentive to give this back to you." he held the arm studying carefully. "This is pretty advanced tech. You must have made a heck of an impression on General Ironwood."

"Yeah, impression." she scoffed. "I think he just felt guilty, like it was all his fault or something." she held her hand out to him. "My arm."

"Right." he handed the arm back to her.

Taking it back, she looked at it for a brief moment. "Can you hold the bucket."

"Yeah." he nodded grabbing hold of it he held it up for her. She took the arm and began slowly disassembling it with practiced ease. He was amazed at how quickly she was able to take apart the arm one handed, then again she probably had a lot of experience doing just that. Taking the pieces, she dipped them in the water, rinsing the various bits of salt and sand out of them.

They sat like that in as she continued to work.

"I'm sorry." he finally broke the silence. "I may not have thought what I did was a big deal. But you did, and that's all that matters. So I'm sorry."

She inhaled sharply and let out a long sigh. "I'm still mad at you."

"Understandable." he nodded.

Putting the pieces back together she reattached the her arm and held it out to him. "But apology accepted."

Shaking her hand. "Good. I'll try to keep my eyes to myself from now on."

Yang's face flared red. "And never speak of it again." she added squeezing his hand tightly.

"Agreed." he nodded. Picking up the bucket of now grimy water he made his way to the door. "I've got a few more things to do before it gets dark. Call me if you need anything."

"Sure thing." Alone once more her eyes turned towards the food he had brought forward. Wolfing it down she then collapsed back onto the bed. She only had about another day maybe two before she fully recovered. She might as well enjoy the chance to rest while she could.

 _#####_

The crack of thunder pierced through the quiet night.

Yang sat up in bed with a start her eyes blazing red; mechanical arm unfurled into a gun. Lightning flashed, followed a few seconds later by another rumble. Upon realizing that her perceived attacker was a storm and not some type of tropical Grimm, her eyes faded into lilac, and the gun on her arm retracted.

The lightning flashed again, and she began to silently count in her head waiting for the thunder's boom. "Twelve seconds." she whispered as the sound reached her ears. That meant the storm was still a few miles away yet. Going over to her window to double check she could see the storm looming in the distance. It would be here in a few hours.

"This could be bad." the bungalow was an alright shelter for heat and the occasional drizzle, but she doubted it would stand up to the rigors of a storm very well.

Bolting into the living room. "Jaune, wake up there's a storm coming!" however her impassioned cries went unheard as she found the couch empty. "Jaune?" she looked around the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he'd gone out to use the bathroom.

She waited glancing around nervously, but when he didn't return she stomped off into the night. A shiver ran through her as she felt the chill air of the night, amplified by the wind of the coming storm. Perhaps storming out in little more than a tank top and bikini bottoms was not the best idea.

"Jaune?" she looked around the campsite but he was nowhere to be seen. Another rumble of thunder sounded from the horizon. "Where could he be?" that was when she heard a sound from one of the other bungalows. It was faint but it sounded like Jaune. Walking closer she could hear his voice, gasping out in shallow rasps. Was he hurt? What was he doing in there? Inching the closer her hand gripped onto the doorknob.

Wait, maybe she shouldn't just burst into there. That was what had caused all the awkwardness between them the past few days. Maybe he was just fine after all if he was hurt he would probably be calling for help. Or he just had to use the bathroom and was just having a tough time.

Fidgeting there she waited, but the gasps kept coming, and the thunder continued to rumble. Maybe she should just peek inside. If Jaune was alright she could just sneak out, and he'd never know she was there and she wouldn't be intrusive. Turning the doorknob, she inched the door open as quietly as she could.

The bungalow was set up differently than the one she currently resided in, with a couch facing away from the front entrance. She could see Jaune's head rolled back, ragged pants coming from his mouth. She could see his right shoulder moving back and forth and hear the low thumping sound.

She froze...was he?

A slightly louder gasp from him pierced through the night.

Yes, he definitely was.

She had to get out before he noticed.

She backed out of the room nearly breaking into a sprint, and she swore she heard him cry her name as she left.

 _#####_

Yang sat on her bed curled into a ball hugging her knees to her chest. She had just walked in on Jaune...doing...she couldn't even bring herself to finish the thought.

"Maybe he was doing something else." she chuckled nervously desperately trying to convince herself. "I could just ask him to try and…" she shook her head. "No I can't do that.. 'Hey Jaune I walked in on you and it looked like you were jacking it. You weren't thinking of my chest, were you?'" She said in an overly sweet and mocking tone. "Yeah, that will go over so well."

With a heavy sigh, she flopped back onto the bed. Not that it mattered anyway, she couldn't talk to him about that anyway; she'd reveal that she had broken his privacy. It's not like he was doing it in the next room. He'd obviously tried to get some privacy But still..

Her face flared red at the thought. What was she supposed to do? Despite the party girl persona she put forward, she didn't have much experience with things like this. The thought of him doing _that_ to her was just well it made her feel weird. On one hand part of her felt disgusted; but another part of her felt...flattered?

Flattered...she guessed that was the right word for it. She was no stranger to the leering gaze of others; hell, a part of her used to relish it. She dressed to catch the eyes of others. She loved the attention, but now? Knowing someone personally who was turned on by her was different. Not good not bad, just different. And she'd never really thought _that_ hard about someone might do with some attraction, which was weird considering _she_ had-

The loud boom of thunder snapped her back to reality. The sound of rain hammering onto the dilapidated roof began slowly at first, but quickly gained speed. She could hear water trickling in from across the room.

Oh yeah. The storm.

Flying off the bed, Yang grabbed her jeans and pulled them on. It had been days since she had worn them and they still stung against her fading sunburn. She grit her teeth; she didn't have time to care. It didn't matter what Jaune was doing, the storm was here and they needed a plan, even if that meant kicking in the door and interrupting his happy time. Flinging open the door she crashed into fellow blonde causing him to topple to the ground.

"I guess you noticed the storm." he grumbled as he stood up.

"You think," she snarked back as a flash of lightning seemed perfectly timed to punctuate her quip. Crossing her arms over her chest her eyes narrowed. "So what's the plan? Hunker down until it passes?"

He looked past her and into the room, staring at the water now streaming in from the roof. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"What about the hotel?" she mused. The hotel may have been a smelly and stuffy ruin, but it was more structurally sound than the bungalows.

"That could work." he ran into the main room and grabbed a few supplies. "Grab the rice and lets go."

Going to the cabinet in the kitchen she retrieved the bag. It was startling at how light it was. This bag of rice had been all that stood between her and starvation for the past...how long had they been here? Great, the days were starting to run together now. Another flash of lighting reminded her that time was still a factor. Steeling herself, she joined Jaune and ran outside.

It was hell. The island the while difficult to survive on had been an almost idyllic paradise compared to what it was now. Howling winds and pouring rain pelted her as she ran. Her feet splashed into the water that was pooling beneath her slipped in the mud and fell to the ground the bag of rice falling from her grip.

"Shit!" scrambling to her feet she scooped up the bag and sprinted the rest of the way into the hotel. Panting she had to suppress the urge to gag. It was good to see that the air was just as foul as she remembered it. Squinting she could barely see in the darkness.

"Good, we made it." he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah..." she shivered, she was completely drenched from her fall.

"Let's find a room and hunker down until the storm passes." He began to slowly feel his way through the darkness. She followed closely after.

Yang was cold, soaked, tired and flustered. She wanted nothing more than to have some time to think on her own. And now she was going to spend who knows how long stuck with a man she'd caught pleasuring himself to her.

This was going to be a long, awkward night.

* * *

Well, this has certainly been a long time coming. Sorry it's been so long I do love this story, but it's hard to write sometimes. Cause the greatest strength of the story the fact that there are for the most part there are only two characters and that works against me sometimes. But this was a different chapter to write. Getting into slightly mature themes. I will warn you that eventually the story will get into more mature themes eventually probably going up in rating even. But that is still some time off.

Also if you're interested. Do you like RWBY and Pokemon then I have a new story for you Chasing Gold, a nice story for fun.

Well until next time hopefully it won't be as long of a wait.


	7. Day 11

**Last Resort**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aethling & Anonymous02

Day 11

* * *

Jaune fumbled his way through the darkness of the abandoned hotel, it reeked of mold, the air was stale, and he could barely see what was in front of him. But at least he was out of the rain.

"You still with me?" He called out behind him.

"Nope, I drowned." Yang's voice snarked somewhere behind him. "My ghost just decided to haunt you for-of course I'm behind you! Where else would I be?"

"Just making sure, geez." he snapped back. "Forgive me for making sure you're okay."

"I'm perfectly okay." she continued to complain, her hair glowing faintly in the darkness. "Nearly two weeks here and no sign of any ships." her hair was growing brighter by the second. "I'm sick of rice and iguana meat, I've been horribly sunburned, and now I'm freezing cold and soaked!"

His eyes peered out into the newly lit hallway, just a little more light was all he needed. Shaking his head he tried to drive the thought from his mind. He shouldn't, he really shouldn't, but...

"Don't forget I saw your boobs." he chuckled.

"You really want to die?!" she growled her hair coming fully alight. "You said you'd…"

"Oh there's the stairs." he pointed at the newly revealed pathway. "Just keep that up a little longer till we get up the stairs."

"Are you?" it was rather amusing watching the dawning realization come across her face. "Are you using me as a flashlight!?"

"Well more like a lantern." he shrugged, continuing up the rotten stairs. Yang fuming behind him in an anger feedback loop. Taking a careful step forward Jaune's foot cracked through one of the steps, he stumbled forward, the railing breaking under his weight.

"Jaune!" her hands shot out faster than he had ever seen her move and wrapped around his torso pulling him back.

"Thanks." he managed to pant out.

"You're welcome." she pushed him away. "Still pissed at you." she grumbled as she picked up the bag of rice she had dropped.

"Good, I still need the light." he nodded. Carefully, they made their way up the stairs to the third floor, and into the nearest hotel room. It was a pretty nice room, filled with the remains of several large plush couches and chairs. The wooden fixtures were lovingly handcrafted and a stark reminder that this place should have been well outside of what he could ever afford if it was still active.

Yang flopped down on one of the chairs, tossing the bag of rice onto the floor. She curled up into a ball shivering, the glow from her hair fading.

"Can you keep your hair glowing a little longer?" his eyes squinted in the rapidly darkening room. "Until I can at least figure out a way to make a fire or something?"

"Sure let me just adjust my dimmer switch." she replied indignantly, but her hair did glow brighter in irritation.

"Perfect, thanks." he gave her thumbs up, ignoring her growl of frustration. He looked through the what little supplies they had. Mostly it was just bit of flint and some very soaked tinder. Well, those weren't going to work, and he didn't have any kind of clear space to make a fire pit. Maybe he should prepare one for future use.

Looking around the room he began to take stock of what he had to deal with. Maybe he could fashion a torch, he was able to make a reliable enough one during initiation. Eyeing a a particularly ornate table, he walked across the room. Grasping one of the legs, it took little effort for him to wrench it from the rest of the structure.

Ripping fabric from the tablecloth, he wrapped it around one end of the leg. "Hey, how many shells do you have left?"

"Let me check." her gauntlet unfurled as she counted her ammunition. "I've got a full clip, so six shells, I think I have three extra back at the bungalow. Why?"

"Think I can borrow one? I can use the fire dust inside to light a fire."

"What!?" sitting bolt upright in her chair. "No way! I only have a few of those on hand, what if we need them?"

"We do need them." he sighed wearily. "We need to light a fire before we freeze to death. A bullet won't help us much if we're dead."

Yang crossed her arms letting out an indignant huff. "Fine." she removed on of the red shells and tossed it at him.

"Thanks." he caught it, cracking it open revealing the reservoir of fire dust inside. It was a small amount, but he knew from experience that Yang's particular blend packed a pretty big punch. He'd probably be able to spread this out over three uses if he was careful. Taking a pinch of it between his fingers, he sprinkled it onto his makeshift torch. With great care, he brought his aura up around his hand, aura was the key to dust use after all; and touched it to one of the dust grains.

With an intense burst of flame, the cloth on the wood ignited. He had a torch! It should last long enough for him to figure out a more enduring solution for the time being. Standing up, he began to search around the room. He would need something that would let him start a fire safely, and not risk burning down the hotel around him.

"I'm going to check out some of the other rooms. Do you want to come with me or will you be fine in the dark?"

"I'm my own light, remember?" she spat out bitterly, her hair still shimmering slightly. Maybe the boobs comment was too much, maybe he shouldn't have egged her on so much, but he'd have to apologize later when they weren't about to freeze to death.

"Suit yourself." he shrugged, before going to check out the bedroom of the suite. Inside was a bed large enough that all of his and Yang's team could have shared it, and only be slightly cramped. Well at least they had a potential place to sleep. Looking around he noticed a bookshelf filled with books. Grabbing it off the shelf, he leafed through it. The pages were pretty decayed, but from what little he could read it was some kind of smutty romance novel. "Well at least there's a lot to burn."

Putting the book back he continued his search, going into the adjoining bathroom, on a lark he tried the sink, but as expected no water came out. Well that wasn't helpful...or was it? Sinks were made of porcelain and that was fireproof.

"Hey Yang!"

"Yeah?" she called from the other room.

"Can you come in here? I could use a hand." He could hear a bunch of grumbling coming from her as she made her way into the bathroom. Her mood obviously hadn't improved.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"Can you hold the torch?" he held it out to her.

"Sure?" she took it from him.

"Thanks." with hands now free he gripped onto the sink. Taking a deep breath he pulled with all his might. It didn't take long before the worn fixture broke under and was ripped from the wall with a loud snap.

"What the hell?" she looked at him confused.

"It's a fire pit. Come on." he walked back through the bed room, Yang following after him. "Grab some books from the shelf if you can."

"Okay." she scooped up as many books as she could carry with one arm.

Once back in the main room, he placed the sink in the middle of the floor. "Can you rip the books apart while I take care of the table. **"**

"Sure…" she began to tear apart the books. "Are you sure a fire in here is good idea?"

"Not really." he shook his head. "But it's the only idea we've got. We'll freeze without it." grabbing the table he continued dismantling it into scraps. Taking the papers from her he put everything together. "Torch, please." taking it from her he lit the paper.

Slowly, he watched as the the flame spread, the paper acting as tinder until the wood came alight.

They had fire.

Well, fire that wasn't Yang-based.

Jaune smiled widely as he warmed himself, taking a few minutes to make sure the fire would stay sustained. Yang sat down opposite him, still shivering.

"Be right back." hopping to his feet he went back to the bedroom, pulling the blankets and comforters off the bed he brought them back to her. "Here ya go." he dropped the heavier comforter next to her.

"Thanks." she wrapped it around herself still shaking with cold.

"You'll have to take off your clothes so they dry, just like our first night here."

 _#####_

"...take off your clothes…" Those words echoed through her head. Yang curled up defensively. There was no way she was undressing right now.

She wasn't about to risk giving Jaune more fuel for his _imagination._

"I'll be fine." she mumbled pulling the blanket tighter around her.

"I'd really rather you not get sick." he griped, wrapping the blanket around himself. "I not going to take care of you this time."

"Look, I appreciate it but…" a wet slap interrupted her as his jeans hit the ground next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Well I'm not a fan of hypothermia like you are." another wet flop sounded as his hoodie joined his pants by the fire.

"I'm not a fan I just…" one last article of clothing slapped down Jaune's boxers. "Are you freaking naked?"

"Yeah." he shrugged. "That gets cold too Yang. Don't worry, it's why I grabbed the extra large blankets."

"I am not about to get naked in front of you." she huffed.

"Just stay under the blanket, I'll even look away if you're uncomfortable. I won't see a thing."

"Won't stop you from imagining it again." she mumbled.

"Okay, what is your deal?" Jaune snapped. "I thought we moved past this, we shook hands and everything. Is it really the end of the world that I saw your boobs?"

"No, but jacking off to them is!" she yelled without thinking. "I don't want to fuel more of your ' _happy time'_! So excuse me if I'm a little reluctant to get undressed."

Yang's eyes burned red as she glared at her fellow blonde, who blinked in stunned silence. Righteous anger coursed through her. Good, she had shut him up, maybe now they could stop talking about this stripping for warmth nonsense.

But in her triumph she had forgotten one small detail.

"You...you saw that?" he stammered out. "How?"

She wasn't supposed to know.

"Shit." she said under her breath; what could she even say at this point? But the way he was now staring at her, demanding an answer with his eyes she'd have to say something. "I woke because of the storm, I went into the living room to find you. But you weren't there." she fidgeted a little, recounting the image making her heart flutter...great that was another feeling to sort out. "I went looking for you, and then I heard you grunting I thought you might have been in pain…"

"I don't _believe_ you!" Jaune seethed through grit teeth. "This is the exact reason you were furious with _me_ the other day."

"You don't have any right to be upset, doing _that_ while thinking about me."

"Oh please, it wasn't even you! It was Ruby!" he spat out reflexively before a look of pure horror washed over his face.

Deafening silence passed between them, Yang's eyes glowing red. Her whole body shaking with rage.

Ruby?! How dare he even think about her sweet baby sister that way. He had no right to. What did she have that she didn't have better...she blinked that was a confusing thought that only served to infuriate her further.

"I will give you exactly one sentence before I decide to kill you." she all but growled.

"You really don't want to know." he said meekly his face red.

"That wasn't a request, Jaune!" her mechanical fist slammed onto the floorboards beneath her, causing a small crack to form.

"It was a dream okay!" he snapped. "It's not like I have control over them, I didn't even want to, but I couldn't get it to go down after the dream."

"Pervert." she spat disgustedly.

"Oh, like you've never done it!" he crossed his arms in indignation, but careful to keep the blanket in place. "Look me in the eye and tell me you've never had a less than wholesome dream."

Images of a certain shirtless wonder of a monkey faunus pinning her to a wall danced through her head.

"This isn't about that!" she said her face red with both anger and embarrassment. However Jaune glared silently, his eyes boring into her thoughts. "Okay, so I may have had some. But that still doesn't make it okay to be thinking about Ruby that way."

"Look… I don't like it either." he curled up in his blankets. "Ruby's my best friend, I don't feel that way about her. But my subconscious feels the need to remind me that I'm surrounded by some of the hottest girls in the world."

Was that really his defense? Too many hot girls around him? Her body shook, she wasn't sure if it was anger or the chill of her soaked clothes. Like that excused what he did. She was surrounded by plenty of hot people at Beacon and she didn't frig herself into oblivion. "Don't think about Ruby anymore."

"I'll try not to."

"You better not!"

"Look I said I'd try okay. I don't think about Ruby that way." he pleaded. "Scouts honor."

"Well you seem sorry at least." she sighed, she was tired of everything, she wanted this whole ordeal to be over with. "You're not a good enough liar to fake that."

She watched curiously as Jaune's face fell. "You'd be surprised."

"What's that…" she stopped, the look in his eyes told her clearly that asking was a bad idea. "Nevermind." she shivered again.

While she didn't like the idea, she knew Jaune was right she'd catch a cold at this rate, and she'd already spent the last few days useless, she couldn't afford to spend anymore like that. "...You promise not to look, right?"

"Yeah." he nodded, turning so his back was to her.

Yang let out breath, shifting around she began to peel her clothes off, putting them by the fire with a wet plop. Well, now she was naked, with only a blanket to defend her modesty, and Jaune sat only a few feet away in a similar state.

Yep, maximum awkwardness.

"I'm decent." she hugged the blanket around herself as tightly as she could.

"Okay…" he turned slowly back around.

Silence hung in the air between them.

"So, what should we do now?" Yang finally broke the silence.

"Not much we can do." he shrugged. "Maybe get some sleep, hope the storm passes over by the time we wake up."

She nodded, she had been awakened pretty abruptly, and the warmth of the fire was lulling her to sleep, her eyelids drooping. Laying on her side she curled up in a ball.

Hopefully, things would be better in the morning.

 _######_

Jaune rubbed the sleep from his eyes stretching as he sat up, he shivered as the cool air hit him.

 _All of him…_

His eyes widened as he realized the blanket had fallen away from him, panic rising in him he looked over to Yang and was relieved to see she was still asleep curled up in her blanket which had thankfully stayed in place. Last thing he needed was to see her naked again. They had only just managed to get past the first incident.

Guilt washed over him as the image of her bare chest once again came to the forefront of his mind. An image that would most likely be forever seared into his brain. Another wave of guilt hit him as he remembered the topic of last night's argument.

He hated having to use Ruby as a scapegoat, but it was the most surefire way to get Yang to stop questioning him.

 _Long blazing blonde locks cascaded around his face, burning red eyes bore into his own. His hands gripping Yang's hips like a vice as her nude form writhed and gyrated above him. Her lips crashed onto his, tasting of fire, while her hands traced down his chest leaving hot and cold in their wake._

Jaune shook his head and slapped his cheek. "Stupid dream…" he muttered. With a sigh he stood and retrieved his clothes from the now embers of a long dead fire. Pulling them on he noted how frayed the legs of his jeans had become. Day in and day out of only one pair was starting to take its toll on them. Pulling on his beloved and now sleeveless hoodie he walked over to one of the nearby windows and pulled back the blind.

It was slightly lighter outside now meaning the sun was up at least, but as to what time it was he couldn't guess. The sun was completely obscured by the clouds that were still unleashing their deluge onto the island.

"No sign of stopping anytime soon." he rested his head against the glass. What were they going to do? How long would it last? What would they do for food if they were stuck in here? His stomach gurgled at the thought of food. They still had the bag of rice at least, unfortunately in his haste he had forgotten the pot at the bungalow. Walking over to where Yang had set the rice picked it up, only to find it soaked.

He'd forgotten that Yang had dropped it.

Panic coursed through his veins like ice, rice would be worthless if he didn't cook it soon. But that would mean getting rid of several day's supplies at once. They'd have no safety net anymore, relying only on what they could scrounge up on the island.

"Damn it!" he whispered. His fists clenched around the bag, he wanted to scream at her for being careless, for making it that much harder to survive, but he knew it wouldn't solve anything. Just another argument in the long string of them that he and Yang had had since they got here. They were both on edge constantly, over a week and still no sign of anyone. Bringing the sack over he set it next to their makeshift fire pit. He'd have to find something in this place he could cook with. Maybe see if there were any other canned supplies they missed.

Retrieving the spent torch from earlier he inspected, it wasn't so burnt that is couldn't be reused at least for a little bit. Rewrapping it with some fresh cloth he used another pinch of fire dust he relit it. With light returned to him he looked around the room. Yang was still curled up in a ball under her blanket which thankfully hadn't shifted, if he saw anymore of her even on accident she'd probably kill him. Quickly gathering what he could he could as fuel he dropped it into the sink and relit the fire pit. Yang gave a soft sigh of contentment in her sleep as the warmth hit her.

"Happiest she's looked in awhile." Jaune smiled seeing her grin in her sleep and giggling. "Wonder what she's dreaming about?" he mused absentmindedly before making his way back into the dilapidated hotel.

 _#####_

 _Strong arms pinned Yang to the wall, as his teeth bit savagely into her neck, eliciting a ragged gasp from her. Her arms wrapped around him, nails digging into his back. Her legs locked around his waist as his hands gripped her thighs to hold her up. His bright blue eyes bore into hers before the two became one, and Yang was lost in a torrent of bliss._

Yang's eyes flew open as a shudder raced down her spine. Sitting up rapidly, she took a moment to orient herself: this wasn't her bungalow. Blinking rapidly to clear her still foggy mind, memories of everything came back to her: the storm, the hotel, the argument.

Then the dream hit her.

Blood rushed to her face, leaving her feeling suddenly cold as a chill ran through her. That was when another realization hit her. she was sitting stark naked in the middle of the room, the blanket having fallen when she snapped awake. Bringing her her arms up to cover her breasts, she looked around and breathed a sigh of relief that Jaune wasn't in the room.

Scrambling over to the fire, which seemed to still be going strong despite burning all night, she retrieved her now dried clothes and hastily pulled them on.

Well, that was one embarrassment solved, though flashes of the dream still floated through her thoughts.

"Damn it Jaune…" she grumbled. It had been _months_ since she had thought about anything like that, much less dreamed about it. Not since…

Her gaze flickered to her golden arm.

But she shouldn't be surprised last night's conversation brought those ideas back into her head. Why did Sun have to be so hot? Those blue eyes staring at her, the unkempt blonde hair, that goofy smile.

"Almost describes Jaune." laughed with a snort. She blinked...that was a pretty apt description for both of them. Did the one in her dream have a tail? Her hands hadn't traveled south enough to find out. Violently shaking her head, she drove those thoughts from her mind. It was Sun, he was usually the target of her dreams; and hopefully Blake never became aware of that.

Blake…

Great, now she had to remind herself of her worthless partner!

No. No, that wasn't _entirely_ fair to Blake...

Rather than mope over her partner, She let out a grunt of frustration. Luckily Jaune wasn't here to see her, he'd be all concerned wondering if she was okay...where was he anyway?

"Jaune?" she called out, silence was the only response.

"Jaune!?" she yelled a little louder. His clothes were gone, which meant he wasn't here.

"Where could he have gone off too?"

That was when she noticed something near the fire, the bag of rice. Jaune must have moved it from where she set it. But if it stayed too close to the fire it would run the risk of burning. Going to it she picked up off the ground with a wet sloshing sound.

"Oh no…" her mind raced to the night before when she fell into the mud, the rice flying from her grip. The sack was completely soaked through. The rice would be ruined...and it was her fault.

She _had_ to fix this…

Frantically she began to search around the apartment, the light of the fire and the dim light of day allowing her to do so. Going into the kitchen portion she flung open the cabinets looking for anything that could help her.

Dusty plates and bowls were all that greeted her. "Come on a dish rag, napkins anything!" Her search proved to be futile; she sweeped the apartment for anything she could find. She needed cloth, but all of it was mildew ridden and aged! The only fresh cloth there was…

"My shirt!"

She looked down at herself; her orange tank top was relatively clean comparatively, maybe a little bit of dried mud from when she fell the night before. Not ideal...but they didn't have ideal right now.

Sprinting back to the fire Yang pulled her shirt over her head and then carefully brushed off the dried mud as best she could until it looked clean enough to her eyes. She laid her shirt across the warped and dirty floor as close to the fire as she dares, then began to scoop out damp handfuls of rice. She spread the grains across the cloth carefully, keeping them from clumping up. She'd lost some rice in the fall, and some didn't even ft onto it now, but she crammed every single grey-white fleck she could onto that shirt.

"Please work." Yang pleaded to any gods that cared to listen as she settled back from organizing. In theory, the combination of her shirt and the fire would draw the moisture out of the rice. She had done this before when she cooked at home, but there she had paper towels and much more reliable sources of heat. Grabbing the now empty bag she also placed it near the fire. It couldn't hope to dry it out too, but now all she could do was hope and wait.

It was only then that she noticed the fire was starting to wane, so she'd needed to add some more fuel. There we some more books in the bedroom if she remembered correctly?

Standing up she made her way to the bedroom. While in there she caused sight of her reflection from a mirror as she walked past it, and it reminded her of two very important things.

She was topless again.

Well, that was a problem, and now she didn't have a shirt to wear she'd have to cobble something together before Jaune came back she didn't need her tits flopping about. She walked over to the mirror now curious. It had been days since she had seen herself in a proper mirror.

Her skin was darker than usual, a result of days of harsh sun exposure. Her blonde hair was stringy, unkempt and had lost much of its luster. Deprived of the plethora of shampoos and conditioners that her hair was usually treated with.

"You've definitely seen better days, girl." she sighed still studying her reflection. "Are…" her hands traveled to her breasts. "Are my tits shrinking?"

She hefted them up feeling their weight, it was hard to tell, but they felt lighter to her. Her diet had been sparse since she got here, so she guessed losing weight was inevitable but why did it have to be her boobs first?

"Hey, Yang!" Jaune suddenly called from out in the main room. "You here?"

"Yeah, in the bedroom." She responded, his footsteps loomed in closer. "Don't come in, I'm naked!"

Perhaps not the most tactful thing to shout, but she couldn't have him walk in here and seeing her groping herself. She heard a slight crash as she assumed Jaune stopped suddenly in shock.

"Why?" he shouted confused.

"I used my shirt to try and dry out the rice." her hands moved as her arms wrapped protectively around her. "I came in here to get more paper for the fire and got distracted. Where were you?"

"I went out scrounging to see if I could find a way to salvage the rice and find any supplies that might be helpful. Found a few plates and some odd and ends, nothing too useful though."

"I see." Yang nodded. "I don't suppose you found anything to wear?"

"Wasn't looking for clothes. Why?"

"I don't have anything else to wear with my shirt in use."

Silence followed before something was tossed into the room with hitting the floor near the doorway.

"Take that."

Tiptoeing her way over to it she shielded herself with one arm while reaching out with the other. Jaune's hoodie… well, that was certainly nice of him. She knew it meant a lot to him. She studied it, the ragged tears where the sleeves had once been, she'd have to ask what happened to them at some point. Pulling it over her head she stared down at the smiling bunny face looking back at her from on her chest.

"Well, you certainly look happy to be there." she snickered. The hoodie was pretty baggy, was Jaune always so big compared to her, but it would keep her from flashing Jaune for the rest of the evening. Walking back into the room, she was greeted by a very shirtless Jaune attending to the fire. "Thanks."

"No problem." he smiled up at her. "But I should be thanking you."

Yang sat down on a chair. "Why?"

"You saved the rice, I would have never thought of drying it out like that."

"You know how to do all this survival stuff but drying rice is too hard for you?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, unfortunately, Jack Calico never covered that topic."

"Wait?" dawning realization came across her face. "Wild Times With Jack Calico? That's how you know all this?"

"Uh yeah?" he shrugged. "That and camping with my family."

"That was like one of my favorite shows when I was a kid." she laughed. "Ruby and I watched it all the time."

"Really?" Jaune beamed. "I watched it every week with my sister, she was super into camping and outdoorsy things."

"Yeah, really." Her head rolled back staring wistfully at the ceiling. "Take charge man, always looking for life's next greatest adventure. I based my life off him, I figure what greater adventure than being a Huntress."

"Well, we're certainly having an adventure now." Jaune scoffed.

"Aww come on think about it." she sat up leaning forward in her seat. "If Jack were stuck here he would have built a condo out of trees and started an iguana farm."

"Yeah, and you taking down that shark is nothing." Jaune spoke up excitement in his voice. "Remember when he wrestled that Menagerian Crocodile with his bare hands."

"Pfft, I could do that too." she declared confidently. "Without my robot hand!"

"Yeah, but Jack didn't have aura."

"I bet I still could."

"Ha, I'll take that bet."

"What do I win?" she asked eyes shining intrigued.

"Well If you ever manage to successfully wrestle one, I'll buy you all the Strawberry Sunrises you can drink."

"You do realize that would mean going to a club and dancing with me?" she smirked. "Think you can handle it?"

"I'm pretty sure I can." he pondered. "But if you lose what do I win?"

"Hmm." she brought her mechanical hand to her chin, a pensive look on her face. "Well, I'll let you decide that I love living dangerously." she held out her hand. "So bet?"

"Yeah!" Jaune gripped her hand and shook it enthusiastically.

It was a stupid mindless moment between them, and it was the most fun either of them had had in days.

But outside the rain continued to fall.

* * *

Well this has been a long time coming, sorry it's been so long. I had hoped to have something released for the one year anniversary, but it has been a trip, went to the hospital on Christmas Eve for leg pain (I'm fine) and my cat of 17 years sadly passed away. So there were some delays. But here we are a longer than normal chapter which I hope will become the norm.

As of right now, this fic has 975 followers I never thought that it would be this popular. Thank you all of you who love this story.

Also if you're interested I've done a few one-shots recently, check them out.

As always read and review.


	8. Day 13

**Last Resort**

Day 13

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aethling

* * *

Yang stretched out as she woke up to the face the day, the patter of rain hitting the building outside telling her that they were still besieged in this hotel. Rolling out of bed, she felt a few vertebrae pop as she stood up.

"Oh, I needed that." she let out a groan of relief as she rubbed her back. Walking over to the window, she opened the blind to let what little light of day the weather permitted inside.

"Still raining." she sighed. Of course, she had already known that, but it felt good to voice her displeasure at the lousy weather.

It had been at least a day maybe two since they had gotten stuck in here, at least as best as she could recall. She had lost all but the most basic sense of time days ago. But where they had once been cold and shivering wrecks, after warming the place up with a string of fires and drying off, the hotel rooms had become a sweltering stuffy nightmare. It was a stark reminder of the extreme tropical conditions that she and Jaune found themselves in.

"At least the bungalows were breezy." Yang griped while wiping some sweat from her brow. "Barely awake and I'm already sweating like a pig." She went over to the mirror, one of her favorite pastimes over the past day or so. She had never realized how much she had missed seeing her own reflection until she found this mirror the other day.

"Yep, still awful." she scowled.

Yang's reflection scowled back from the mirror, nearly naked save for her trusty pair of bikini bottoms. The humid air made it uncomfortable sleep in much more than that; if it weren't for the fact that Jaune was asleep in the next room she might have gone au natural, it was that stuffy. Yang had always taken a lot of pride in her appearance and seeing it slowly slipping away from her was heartbreaking. She was sure that to most she would still look stunning, it would take more than a few days to undo years of intense huntress training, but she could see the difference.

Her skin darker than normal where she had tanned, and while normally that would be a welcome addition however her tan was grossly uneven. Turning slightly, she could see her back had become a peeling mess where it had burned, that would take a few days to sort itself out unless she asked Jaune for help. But given everything that had happened between them that seemed unlikely.

Her hair was matted and clumped together, desperate need of any kind of affection. Continuing her inspection she ran her her hand over her legs, she could feel the rough bumps of leg hair beginning to grow.

"Wonder if I can make a razor out of a shark tooth?" she mused absentmindedly.

Yang flopped down on the bed, the old springs screeching in protest. She retrieved her tank top and pulled it over her head, face twisting into a grimace as the scent of the sweat-soaked garment wafted by. She needed a bath in the worst possible way, even if it was just a dip in the freshwater pool. Yang had thought being stuck on the island was bad, but nope. On the island she could at least explore or fish, she actually couldn't wait to get out there and try again to prove to herself that she could provide. That the shark wasn't some one time fluke, that she could carry her weight out here. She'd been leaning on Jaune too much for support and it was time for her to return the favor.

But being stuck in this hotel?

This was hell.

Having been cooped up here in this sweatbox with almost nothing to do was nothing short of agony to her. Rising from the bed once more she went over to the door and knocked on it.

"Hey, Jaune." Yang knocked again. "You decent?"

"Sure, come in." Jaune called from the other side. Opening the door to the main room, she saw Jaune working over their sink fire. He was minimally dressed as well, in some rather tight bright green swim shorts.

Yang's eyebrow raised. "This counts as decent?" she snickered.

"It was either this or speedos." Jaune remarked tossing a bit more tinder into the fire. "It was all I could find in my size."

"Now you know my pain." She chuckled remembering the brown and green monstrosity of a one piece she had found when she had first raided the stores on the bottom floor. It had served her pretty well, hopefully, it would still be in the bungalow if the rains hadn't washed the island away by this point.

"Yeah, just don't tease me too much" He stood finishing up with the fire. "It's super embarrassing wearing this."

"Jaune I spent three days laid up with _you_ massaging my back daily."

'and you saw my tits.' Yang wanted to add but the less she brought up that incident the better.

"Besides." her eyes looked him up and down.

He didn't look half bad; obviously, the months on the road had been very kind to him. Jaune had filled out his frame, even adding another inch or two without looking gawky and awkward like back at school, and he had always gone for a wild hair look. Gone was tall, blonde and scraggly and in his place was, what had Nora said 'Mr. Muscles?'

"Other than the color you don't have much to be embarrassed about."

"Huh?" his head cocked to the side. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What?"

"You said I have nothing to be embarrassed about?" He repeated. "Why?"

"Oh..um!" Yang's mind panicked. "Hey is there any reason you lit the fire, it's already pretty warm in here?" she all but blurted out, hoping to change the subject as fast as possible.

"I was getting ready to make some rice?"

"Right the rice!" she interrupted. "I'll get you some water." she very nearly sprinted out of the room grabbing the pot as she went and into the hallway.

What was wrong with her? What was she thinking? Had she just been checking him out? She had only meant to say he didn't look like a wreck!

They had been here too long, cooped up in such close quarters. That was the only explanation for why that cursed thought had drifted through her mind, if only briefly.

That somewhere along the way, Jaune 'Vomit Boy' Arc went and got hot.

Shaking her head, Yang decided the best way to dispel such beliefs was to focus on the task she had oh so _adamantly volunteered_ for and collect water to boil the rice.

That should get her mind off of... _things._

Making her way down the dim hallway, Yang swore she was somehow gaining night vision because it was surprising how easy it was to navigate the darkened corridors of the hotel. Tiptoeing up the stairs Yang reached the floor above, going into the nearest hotel room she set down the pot and opened up the main window.

Lashed to the window via a rope made of bed sheets was another sink that had been torn from the wall, a screen cut from a window lay across the drain creating a crude filter. The pipe that dangled underneath was stopped up with cloth preventing as much leaking as was possible. Hauling the heavy thing inside she held it over the pot thankful that her mechanical arm couldn't get tired. With her other hand, she unstopped the pipe allowing the water collected in the sink to sift through the filtered pipe and into the pot.

"I still can't believe this worked." Yang grinned as the water poured, she had always been pretty handy growing up, helping dad around the house, maintaining Bumblebee and now her arm. But cobbling together a water filter out of junk? That had been tricky. Of course, it would have to be boiled before they could drink it. But it was better than just having rainwater straight from the sky.

When the water had finished draining Yang carefully placed the sink back outside the window and securing it tightly. Once she was sure the sink wouldn't be going anywhere she shut the window again. Picking up the now half full pot of water she made her way back down to the room that had become her second home since arriving on the island. There Jaune there tending to the fire, still currently rivaling Sun for the title of 'shirtless wonder'.

"Oh good, I was starting to think you had gotten lost." Jaune looked up at her as she walked in.

"Oh you know me, I was enjoying all the lovely sights that this five-star hotel has to offer." Yang joked as she set the pot of water down.

"See all the wonders of Silene Island. Rain, darkness and mold!" he added waving his hand dramatically for effect earning a laugh from Yang.

"Don't forget the sweltering humidity." She sighed as she flopped onto the nearby couch. "First thing I'm going to do once the rain stops is dive head first into the pool."

"Ditto." he nodded picking up the pot she had set down, he held it above the fire, she could see his aura forming around his hands. It was perhaps one of the most dangerous ways they could cook, but they didn't have anything they could cobble together to hold the pot while it boiled.

Yang felt bad that Jaune had to do this, she would have at least offered to take turns, but while her own aura extended into her mechanical arm protecting it, the prosthetic was still dangerously hot afterward. But the term 'a watched pot never boils' definitely applied to this moment. Jaune looked bored as hell just standing there, his muscles flexing as he shifted, his chest glistening with sweat in the firelight.

The sound of flesh against flesh echoed throughout the quiet and stuffy room.

Jaune blinked in confusion. "Did you just slap yourself?"

"No!" she spat out defensively her eyes wandering to where the offending hand still resting against her cheek. "Yes!" the hand slowly returned to her side. "Maybe." she said.

"Are...are you okay?"

"I'm just a little tired." Yang chuckled nervously while rising to her feet. "I'm gonna lie down for a little bit." practically sprinting across the room, she went back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Flopping onto the bed she let out a groan of frustration. What was wrong with her? Flipping onto her stomach Yang buried her face in her pillow. Hoping to smother all the unwanted thoughts running through her mind, she was tired of this place, tired of being cooped up, tired of her hormones playing tricks on her.

She was just tired.

The darkness of sleep overtook her.

 _Strong arms pinned her to the wall…_

 _######_

Jaune stared at the door in utter confusion.

"Okay then." he whispered to himself. He had no clue what was up with Yang, but years of experience with his sisters told him it was best not to ask. But now that he was alone it made waiting for the rice to boil a long and boring process.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the rice finished cooking. After carefully draining the pot out a nearby window he spooned the rice into two bowls.

"Hey Yang there's rice out here if you want some!" he announced setting the bowl outside her room. He sighed when she didn't respond. Well he tried, she'd just have to eat it cold if she was going to be like this. He shoveled a spoonful into his mouth noting the bland flavor, he never thought he would miss the taste of iguana meat but it added much-needed substance to the rice.

His eyes flickered over to the burlap sack that contained their lifesaving nourishment, and he lamented how pitifully empty it was. Despite Yang's best efforts, she had only managed to save about half the rice, which left their supplies much lower than before. It would only be about a week, maybe two if they rationed as much as possible before they ran out.

"Hopefully a boat will come by before we run out." he whispered. That was a sobering thought, he wasn't sure exactly how long they had been on the island, the days had all started to run together. But Jaune knew one thing. It had been far too long without any sign of boats let alone a rescue. The longer and longer they were here the less likely they would ever even be rescued. How long until all official attempts stop? How much longer than that would their friends keep looking for them? "How long until they just assume we're dead?" Jaune asked gazing into the ceiling as if somehow he would find an answer there.

Finishing up his rice Jaune set the bowl down, he would clean it later if he cared enough to, and with the current thoughts, he was having he doubt he would. Standing up and stretching he once again stared at Yang's door. "Hope she's feeling alright." He had planned on just hanging out today, chatting and resting while waiting out the rain. But with his only source of conversation now holed up in her room that idea was off the table.

Going over to the window Jaune peered out of it, water pouring out of the sky. He had never seen so much rain before, so it was pretty fascinating to watch. It reminded him a little of when he was a kid he and his sisters would lie on the porch and just watch thunderstorms. Perhaps if this resort was still functioning he would just sit here and watch the rain like he used to. This suite was probably quite comfortable in its prime, soft plush couches, an excellent view, and air conditioning. Gods he'd kill for a cool breeze right now.

"I wonder what happened here?" Jaune mused as he walked away from the window. This place was lavish, the height of luxury. A lot of lien went into building this place, and yet here it lay slowly crumbling into ruins. Like most settlements in Remnant Grimm were the most likely factor, he had seen it personally in Kuroyuri and Shion. But that didn't add up, the buildings were for the most part intact, the only wear on them coming from years of disrepair, not the active destruction Grimm left in their wake. Another was simply that the resort closed down, businesses fail all the time, but if that was the case the buildings would have been gutted and yet here all the furniture remained.

"It's as if everyone just up and left as fast as possible." that was worrying, Jaune couldn't imagine what could lead to a place like this being abandoned. Taking another look at Yang's door, the girl still silent. "Well looks like I've got nothing better to do today." going to his stuff he pulled on his jeans and boots, grabbing one of the torches he had made along with one of Yang's shells just in case it got too dark, he went off into the hotel.

There was a mystery to solve.

 _######_

Jaune marveled at just how expansive the hotel was, he was now on the first floor sitting at the front service desk.

"There has to be something here." he muttered while rummaging through the various papers, on the desk. So far he had found a few logbooks, guest registers, and receipts that confirmed the exorbitant price tag this place came with. Eyeing another drawer on the desk he grabbed the handle only to find it jammed. "Oh come on!" he tugged harder on it but the stubborn drawer wouldn't budge. With a grunt of frustration and more than a generous application of aura the wood splintered and gave way with a loud crack. "No, kill like overkill."

Inside Jaune found several brochures each of them advertising attractions around the island. "Let's see, snorkeling, parasailing...aww dolphin diving, I wonder if they still live around here." moving to another brochure he felt his mouth run dry. "A map!" never had Jaune been so excited to see a colorful drawing, it was a simple illustrated map for tourists, not as detailed as he would have liked but it told him where all the different attractions were around the island.

Carefully studying the map Jaune found his current location, the main hotel, close by were the bungalows he'd call home. Following the coast he found where he guessed the maintenance shack would be, it wasn't marked on the map. "So I guess employee facilities aren't marked." his eyes drifted back towards the hotel and then he spiraled out from there searching for anything that might be useful, that's when he spotted it, just a fair distance from the hotel.

A first aid center...

He could have kicked himself, it wasn't that much further than he went into the island interior when he went hunting if he had just gone a bit further. Then again neither of them had spent much time away from the beach, wanting to be sure they could see a beach just in case a boat passed by. But a first aid center, that would be bandages, cloth, alcohol and maybe even medicine if they were lucky. Because if they were in this for the long haul and that was very worryingly becoming a reality, they would need this. Folding the map up Jaune stuffed it in his pocket. The desk had provided more than enough for now, but he still had an entire hotel to search ahead of him.

Standing up he contemplated where he should go next. The shop was always good to raid, they could always use more cloth and maybe if they were lucky there could be some more food. But Jaune doubted they'd be that lucky, besides he'd be better off trying someplace new. Wandering around the ruined hotel he finally found a place that seemed promising.

The Basement.

A basement door with the word maintenance scrawled across it. Maintenance, meant tools, things that could be useful, maybe even life-saving if they were indeed in for the long haul. Prying open the door Jaune peered down the stairs darkness and the sound of flowing water was all that greeted him.

"Of course it would be flooded." Jaune sighed, but it would take more than water to deter him. Stripping off his boots and jeans Jaune folded them up by the door, with a pinch of fire dust he made his way carefully down the stairs, wading into the near knee deep water, thankful that a swimsuit had been among the things that he had salvaged.

Trudging through with water sloshing all around him Jaune looked for anything that could be useful, various tools could be found, most rusted to the point of uselessness. That's when he saw it, there on a crumbling and rotten desk, belonging to a long since forgotten janitor was perhaps the most amazing thing he had ever seen, he could hardly believe his eyes as he walked over and retrieved the precious silver object.

Duct Tape.

Oh, how simple an item it was, back home he could buy a pack of these for only a few lien. But here on this island at this moment. It was one of the most important resources. So many things he could bind together, repair or even make. Better tools, better chances at survival. Was there anymore? Wading around the room he searched carefully, looking through the tools, he managed to find one more of the precious silver rolls.

Jaune was about to make is way back upstairs when a slight yellow glow caught his attention from the corner of the room. "What's that?" inching his way over the light of the torch eventually fell on the building's generator. "There's no way." he whispered. Upon further inspection he found that it was still functioning, still putting out power, but the building's electrical system had long since decayed to the point that the generator had spent years powering nothing but itself.

Finding a table he set the rolls of duct tape down and returned to the generator. Taking a minute to study it, he found the switch and powered the generator down. The faint glow subsided as he did so. Opening the hatch Jaune saw there plain as day a large yellow dust crystal. He couldn't believe something like this was left behind, something like this could power the island for years, and had to be immensely valuable, the dust crystals in the pool were one thing they would have taken time to retrieve, but this should wouldn't have taken any effort at all as Jaune proved by prying the giant crystal out and cradling it in one arm. He didn't know what exactly he could do with a raw dust crystal since that was more Weiss' area of expertise. But this had to be useful for something.

Gathering up his tape and crystal in a precarious balancing act Jaune made his way back up the stairs. Once upstairs, he extinguished the torch and set his findings down with his other belongings. He contemplated whether he wanted to wait to dry off or not but, at this point he just wanted to get back to the room. Maybe check on Yang and see if she felt like talking or was still being a recluse.

Slinging his jeans over his shoulders and pulling his boots back on he grabbed his findings and started to head back to the hotel room. As he reached the landing of the stairs a sudden scream pierced through the silence of the vacant building.

"Yang?" Adrenaline coursed through his veins, his items dropping to the floor he sprinted up the stairs. What had happened? Did she somehow get hurt? Was she having another nightmare? "YANG!?" Jaune burst through the door to the suite. "Are you okay?!" racing to the bedroom door he was about to break down the door in panic when it cracked open just enough for her head to pop out.

"Hey Jaune where's the fire?" Yang said casually, she sounded tired like she was out of breath, her face flush and covered with sweat.

"I heard you scream." Jaune gasped out, his sprint up the stairs catching up with him.

"Oh." her face went red. "I...uh...I...a spider landed on me and it freaked me out."

"I thought you were dying." Jaune sighed in annoyance. "I heard you from the stairs." he watched as her face somehow turned even redder.

"Well I'm not dying!" she spat out before slamming the door in his face.

Jaune could only blink in confusion, okay that was weird. He guessed that she was pretty embarrassed. Yang always put up a pretty confident aura and being scared of spiders seems kind of trivial when you stare down literal monsters every day. At least she hadn't put an oven through the wall like Pyrrha had when she saw a spider.

The memory of the Invincible Girl frantically chucking kitchen appliances across the room in a panic brought a small smile to his face. One that quickly faded away. With a weary sigh and Yang was apparently fine Jaune decided he should retrieve his findings before he forgot about them, maybe he could figure out something to do with them.

Since obviously, he was spending today alone…

 _######_

Yang breathed a sigh of relief as the door slammed shut, thankful that she managed to get to the door before Jaune burst through in the panic. If she hadn't well… she looked down at herself, clad only in a hastily donned tank top, he had very nearly seen the rest of her, and if he had been a few minutes earlier…

Well he would have also found out that her mechanical arm had a 'devastating attack' function, Yang had no idea why it had that feature, but the her of a few minutes ago was very grateful for it. Especially since she had apparently moaned loud enough that she was heard halfway down the hall.

"Thank the gods he believed me." Yang flopped back down on the bed, another wave of embarrassment washed over at the realization that Jaune now knew what _that_ sounded like. It wasn't her fault it was that stupid dream she had.

That stupid dream about _Jaune_

There was no doubt in her mind who the dream was about this time, and what it did to her, what it made her do. She needed to get out of this hotel, it was being stuck in such close proximity that was making this happen, out on the island she had things she could do to keep her thoughts and perhaps, more importantly, her hands busy. If they were stuck here any longer...

She may end up doing something she would regret.

 _######_

Yang stirred from her dozing as her stomach growled loudly. Right, she hadn't eaten today. She had instead chosen exile in her room too embarrassed to face Jaune for right now, but now she might just be forced to. Rising from her bed and pulling on enough clothing to preserve modesty she began to stagger groggily to the door. She wasn't sure what time it was just that it was very dark and very quiet.

Too quiet…

Eyes wide with realization she ran to her window and opened the blinds, the shattered moon shone brightly in the sky.

The rain had finally stopped.

* * *

Been a while hasn't it, sorry for the long wait. I've been a bit busy with another project I've been collabing on "My Abominable Monster Classmates Can't Possibly Be This Cute" on Mallobaude's profile, it's been a lot of fun working on and check it out if you want some good old fashioned monster girl shenanigans.


	9. Day 14

**Last Resort**

Day 14

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aethling & Jiu-Jitsu Dude

* * *

The harsh light of the sun blinded Yang as she stepped out of the hotel for the first time in what felt like weeks, even though she knew it had been only about two days. It was as if she had stepped into another world. There was still a few inches of water on the ground, significantly less than she would have expected, but given the geography of the island the water probably drained off as fast as the rain could dump it.

As her eyes adjusted Yang could see palm fronds littering the ground in every direction, a few of the trees had even toppled over.

"How's it look?" Jaune asked as he stepped blinking into the light of day.

"Pretty bad."

Hand to her forehead trying her best to see down the path. The Bungalows seemed to still be standing, so that was hopeful at least. "Everything was pretty rough beforehand though, so can't be much worse?" Yang beamed back at him.

She had no reason to smile, but it made her feel better at least.

"I guess." he shrugged. The two of them made their way down the path to the bungalow they had called home, Wading through the ankle-high water and debris. Yang was happy to see that the one they had been staying in was still standing.

She stepped out of the water onto the porch step to find the floor still slick with water, but most had drained away already. Going inside, the carpet squished and squelched beneath her feet. Yang found everything seemed to be intact in her room, although the hole in her ceiling was noticeably bigger with bits of wood littering the floor where it fell in.

"Good, I always wanted a skylight." she commented to no one in particular.

Checking her bed, she found that everything was still intact if depressingly soggy. "Just what I needed, more damn water..." She found her bucket, it seemingly had floated free of its corner. Picking it up, she was relieved to see most of its contents were still there, several shark teeth, and even her swimsuit. A genuine smile formed. It may have been a monstrosity but it was her monstrosity damn it. "Looks like my stuff is alright, water-logged but alright." She called, poking her head out the door. "What about yours?"

"The couch is a wet mess, and the firewood pile is useless." Jaune kicked at some scraps of wood on the floor.

"Well we have dry wood in the apartments. Should we bring it down here with the other supplies?"

"Not yet, it's going to take a few days for everything to dry out. We might be sleeping in the apartments until then."

"Great." she deadpanned.

"Hey, doesn't mean we can't hang out outside for the day, have a good old fashioned cookout."

Yang's eyes lit up. "Well, if we're going to have a cookout, we're going to need meat."

"I could always wrangle up some more iguanas, their starting to catch on though."

"Oh no we're not!" Yang ducked back inside her room, grabbing her trusty bucket she strode confidently back out into the living room. "I'm going to take care of dinner tonight for once."

"Yes ma'am!" Jaune saluted with a smile.

"Dork!" she grinned. "I'm going to catch the biggest whopper you've ever seen." with that she stepped out of the bungalow.

Brimming with hope and confidence Yang headed back to the hotel, it was a detour but she needed to stop there first anyway. Because if she wanted to put money where her mouth was...

Yang would need her secret weapon.

 _######_

Jaune traipsed through the interior of the island, trying his best to stay on what was once a clear footpath. In one hand was the crude resort map he had found, in the other was Crocea Mors serving as a makeshift machete for the brush and debris that blocked his way. His destination was the first aid center they'd discovered on the map the other day; If it was like everything else on this island it would be a wreck, but there should be some supplies there that they could salvage, maybe even medical tools. Slicing down a palm frond blocking his view, he had found his goal.

There in front of him was a small, red-brick building, vines overgrowing its exterior. The warm tone of the bricks and the vibrant vines actually made for a really pleasant combination, he thought.

"Looks like it's held up pretty well." He observed as he carefully made his way to the entrance. He managed to pry the door open with minimal difficulty, and found the interior surprisingly bright thanks to many, mostly intact, windows. He briefly toyed with the idea of moving home base here instead of the bungalows.

The clinic seemed to have been virtually untouched by the storm, the structural integrity was a fair amount better, and it wasn't as claustrophobic as the hotel.

"We're probably better off staying on the beach in the long run, though..." The last thing Jaune wanted was to risk missing a passing ship because they weren't there to see it.

He began his search making his way past the reception area and into the back where the examination rooms were. Jaune beelined to the supplies. Sterile bandage packages, rubbing alcohol, and cotton pads: All things that could be useful. He moved onto the next room, preparing a mental list of what he could carry off first, and what was left for later trips tonight or in the next few days.

He stumbled upon a medicine cabinet, various bottles of over the counter medications lay inside, picking up a bottle he checked out the label.

"Expired…" he sighed. It would have been useful to have medication in case of emergencies. Searching through each label he found that all of them were expired.

"Well that sucks."

He moved on, coming to an office which belonged to the onsite doctor. Stepping inside Jaune found a nicely decorated office, a fancy desk, plush leather chair.

"Nice place." He sat down in the chair, surprised at how comfy it was. "Wonder if I can wheel this chair back."

Checking out the desk, he found what he would have expected, pens, notepads… a picture. That was odd. "Weird that they'd leave something so personal behind." Going through the drawers searching for anything of use he came across a journal. "Dr. Rachel Evergreen." He read the name aloud as he turned it over in his hands. Opening it up he paged through the entries, day to day incidents of minor illnesses and injuries from the patrons of the island.

 _ **May 4th**_

 _ **Seems to be something going around. Had the 4th person to come in today complaining of nausea and fever. Administered some minor fever reducers and sent home.**_

 _ **May 7th**_

 _ **More and more of the residents have come down with whatever has been going around, people who were already sick have had their condition worsened, fevers spiking uncontrollably unable to keep anything down. We've requested aid from the mainland to emergency evac patients to more suitable facilities.**_

 _ **May 12th**_

 _ **We've received word that of the 15 patients evacuated, 8 have died. Meanwhile, the infection rate continues to rise. I and my staff are doing everything in our power to treat and make people as comfortable as possible until we can move them off the island.**_

 _ **May 20th**_

 _ **A little girl died under my watch today, her temperature was 105 F and despite gathering all the ice we could to keep her cool, nothing would bring her fever down. I tried for over half an hour to revive her to no avail… I fear that the death count will only continue to rise.**_

 _ **June 12th**_

 _ **This will be my last entry, by order of the kingdom of Mistral, Silene Island is to be evacuated and quarantined. All unneeded objects left behind, myself and other refugees will be placed in observatory isolation until further notice. It pains me to leave this place. For 10 years I have sat in this chair and now this place I have called home will be forgotten…**_

Jaune was stunned as he read the last entry, unsure how to process everything. An illness had caused the island to be evacuated.

An illness that he was now at ground zero for…

Leaping out of his chair, Jaune sprinted out of the room, hoping to get as much space between him and the clinic as possible. It was all too much to take in, a deadly illness potentially still lurking about, if he had read the dates right it had been nearly ten years since the incident and ensuing quarantine.

"A quarantine!" the realization hit him like a truck, was the island still restricted? Was that why they hadn't been found? "I have to find Yang!"

Jaune bolted through the jungle, if memory served Yang should still be at her usual fishing spot. An angry scream echoed throughout the trees. Panic seized his heart. That was definitely Yang. Ordering his legs into overdrive he crashed through trees and brush pushing and cutting obstacles aside. Bursting through the treeline his eyes widened in fear at what he saw.

"YANG!"

 _######_

Yang stepped onto the beach with a confident swagger in her step. Reaching her usual spot, she set her supplies down. Shutting her eyes, she took a moment to just bask in the sun and feel the wind caressing her skin.

"Ahh!" she sighed after taking a deep breath of salt scented air. "It feels so good to be outside again."

It was amazing at just how happy she felt right now. Seeing the sun's light reflecting off the clear blue waves, the feel of the sand between her toes as she kicked them free. She was even happy to be back in her good old fashion disaster of a green and brown swimsuit. But that wasn't the thing Yang was most excited about.

Clutched in her hands was the spear she had crafted the other day from a stick and shark's tooth, but this time it was better and stronger than before. She marveled as the sunlight glinted off the silver duct tape that now held her crude weapon together.

"And they say that Dust is a miracle." Double-checking to make sure everything it about was secure, Yang prepared for her hunt. She glanced at her prosthetic arm: as much as she hated to admit it, the malfunction she had the other day was eye-opening, and the open ocean was no place for the device. Taking a deep breath she activated the release on her arm, popping it off with ease she set it down with her other stood there a while staring at the arm on the ground. It felt strange not to have, like she was naked and exposed to the world, a helpless newborn babe.

"Get a grip girl, it's just fishing." she said as he let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Taking the spear in hand -man, she did have a problem with wordplay- she made a few practice thrusts, getting used to relying on her left arm again. She choked her grip, gave a few more thrusts, and was sure that she could at least hit a fish if it was having an off day.

She strode into the water a mighty huntress, but still activated her aura while wading in; after the shark incident, she wasn't taking any chances. Once she was in up to her chest she dived beneath the surface. Once she managed to open her eyes past the sting of the saltwater, she was greeted by a world of color, of vibrant rainbow of bright fish and coral filling her vision. She would have loved to have had a snorkel and flippers, just to be able to relax and take in the scenery.

But she wasn't here to relax and gawk at wildlife, she was here to hunt. Returning to the surface, she inhaled deeply refreshing her air supply and returned to the underwater paradise. She spotted a school of larger yellow fish just lazily floating in the water. The perfect first targets. Swimming as fast as she could while somehow trying to sneak up on them at the same time, she managed to get in range. Like lighting, the tip of her spear lanced through the water and pierced through the fish.

Yang's eyes went wide, she wanted to shout for joy. Swimming to the surface she let out a triumphant roar. "YES!"

Heading back to shore, she unstuck the fish from the spear, grimacing a little bit as the shark tooth tore its way out of it. "Sorry little guy." she felt a pang of guilt go through her, as well as a little bout of nausea. Truth be told, she hated the sight of blood, especially since she lost her arm. That's why she always walked away when Jaune had to prepare the iguanas he caught. She had never told him that, but she suspected he'd figured it out, always giving her some kind of task so she could excuse herself.

Speaking of Jaune, she needed another fish, one for the both of them at least. Too many would just be wasteful, though supply was hardly short down there. Striding back into the water, heart filled with bravado. She was no longer just Yang Xiao Long, she was Yang: Queen of the Seas.

"I like the sound of that!" she chuckled, amused by her own thoughts. Nothing could stop her now.

That was the moment she was blindsided.

Teeth and scales exploded out of the water to her right just as she reached waist-deep in the sea. Before Yang could even think jaws clamped around her and dragged her underwater.

Which way was up?

Which way was down?

Yang didn't know as her world was spun violently around by whatever it was that attacked her, with her free hand she panically stabbing at her attacker in a desperate attempt to break free. The creature flinched, letting go of her just long enough to scramble to her feet in calf-high water.

Hair coming alight and eyes blazing red, Yang stared down her opponent, the largest crocodile she had ever seen. Dark grey skin and covered with scars, truly an ancient creature, large enough that it could even give an Ursa Major pause.

"BRING IT!" she roared, brandishing her spear. What she wouldn't give for her right arm right now. To her surprise, the croc lunged forward, she had hoped it might have been scared off by her defiance. Crocodiles were ambush predators, they didn't usually like to fight prey head-on if they could avoid it. Her spear lashed out as it grew closer, aura flowing through it and strengthening the primitive weapon. It struck home on the croc's snout, it should have pierced through like a hot knife butter.

But the faint green shimmer of aura blocked the blow.

She'd thought this would end quickly, the last thing she would have expected was for this thing to have aura. While all animals technically had the potential of having aura, it was usually the result of specialized training that they were able to utilize it properly. It was exceedingly rare for a wild animal to have their aura unlocked.

"SHIT!" She dove to the side as the crocodile grazed past her, back under the water's surface, back into _its_ domain. A gaping maw filled her vision, she kicked to move past it again, just managing to get out of the way.

Or so she thought.

A sharp tug jerked Yang's head backwards as the beast's jaws snapped down on her hair. A gasp of pain slipped past her lips causing precious air to escape. Her vision swam and her lungs burned as the crocodile continued to thrash. The pain was excruciating, her hair being literally ripped from her head.

She lashed out desperately with the spear currently death gripped in her hand, the serrated tip cutting into her locks. After what felt like an eternity, the last strand snapped and she kicked away from the crocodile and back to the surface. Taking in a panicked and burning breath, she scrambled for her life to the shore.

Crawling into the surf, Yang found her feet just as the beast lunged at her again.

She let out a primal scream, desperate, angry and scared. Eyes stinging from salt and vision blurring, she no longer saw the crocodile. A man dressed in black, a crimson blade flashing.

Flinging the spear to the side her fist slammed into the reptile's snout as it attacked. The power of adrenaline and her semblance coursing through her veins, the crocodile's aura shimmered and broke under the strain of the blow, its jaw snapping with a loud crack.

The beast gave a hiss of agony, fear shining in its eyes.

The hunter had become the hunted.

The great beast tried to lumber away, but Yang wouldn't have it. Blinded by fury, she grabbed onto its jaw, wrenching it upwards with an audible crack. She stomped her foot on its lower jaw she began to push the two halves further and further apart until it finally gave way. She dropped it to the ground again and began to pound her fist into its skull.

One, three, seven..she began to lose count. Her fist raised once more when a hand grasped her wrist.

"Yang, it's dead!" a voice echoed through her mind sounding distant. Her fist struggled to move in this newcomers grip. So something else wanted a piece of her. Her body wriggled, thrashing against the person. An arm wrapped around her waist pulling her back. "It's dead, snap out if it!"

Yang let out a ragged growl as she thrashed about, but slowly the fog of rage began to lift from her mind. Her vision focused on a thoroughly massacred crocodile, its skull little more than pulp, her eyes wandered to her bloodstained hand realization and shock washed over her. It was sickening, it was disgusting.

Yang couldn't stand it, nausea gripped her stomach, and she saw her breakfast for the second time that day.

 _#####_

It was quiet… uncomfortably so.

Jaune had never seen the Yang so deathly silent as they walked back to the resort. She looked defeated, shoulders hunched and head staring firmly at the ground. Without a peep she walked into the bungalow they had been calling home and sat on the couch.

It was unsettling, seeing her looking so small and helpless. Her hair a disheveled lopsided mess, still covered in gore and sick.

"Yang…" the word hung there what could he even say to her right now that could possibly help. He had walked in on a massacre, any later and the crocodile might have literally been pulp.

"Yes?" she whispered, her lilac eyes almost looking hazy; like she could break down and cry at any moment.

"Where did you want your stuff?" he asked waving the bucket of Yang's things. When she didn't respond he just set it on the ground by the door. Jaune had never understood the phrase 'the silence was deafening' before, but now sitting here, the silence was echoing around him. What should he do. What would he say to one of his sisters? "Are you hungry at all?"

A weak nod was Yang's only reply.

"Okay then, why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll work on dinner, we can cook the fish you caught."

Yang stood and walked past him pausing at the door. "Can you come with me?" it was the most words she had spoken to him in what felt like an eternity.

"I mean I could, but dinner would have to wait a little longer."

"That's fine." she said succinctly.

"Oh okay, did you want your arm back?"

She shook her head. "I'll put it on when we get back. Just bring your sword...please" she added with a barely audible whisper.

"Yeah sure." It was an odd question to be asked. He always had his sword on him. Was she worried about being attacked again?

Yang grabbed a few of her things and exited the bungalow Jaune following close behind her, reaching the pool she set her things down.

"I'll just go over here while you wash up." He turned to duck behind some trees so she could have some privacy.

Yang's hand shot out and gripped his wrist. "Stay."

He wanted to say no, to go away. But the pleading look in her eyes melted away any objections he could have raised. "I will." Assured that he wouldn't bolt she went to the water's edge. Jaune was unsure if she was really going to…

That's when she slipped her swimsuit down exposing her back. His eyes widened and then slammed shut before the swimsuit could lower further.

The sound of splashing water told him that Yang had finished disrobing and had entered the pool. Jaune wondered if he was somehow the secretly luckiest guy in Remnant. One of the hottest girls he'd ever met was swimming around _naked_ only a few feet from him. It was tempting for sure, but he didn't dare open his eyes. While she didn't seem to care if he saw now, she most likely would care later. The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of her current mental state.

For several long minutes, the only noise between them was the sound of splashing water as Yang washed.

"Did you find anything today? You said you may have figured out where we could get some more supplies."

Did she want to have a conversation now? While she was naked?

"Yeah it was an old first aid clinic there…" He stopped, what could he possibly tell her right now? 'Hey Yang I found out that the island is cut off from the world, also there may be a deadly disease floating about.' that would go over real well. "I found some supplies that could be useful, not much else though."

It was a lie, Well half of one at least. He'd have to tell the truth to Yang eventually, but it could wait a little longer, she was traumatized enough already.

"Oh okay." A little more splashing about from her told she had left the pool. "You can open your eyes now."

Jaune blinked, he hadn't realized how tightly he had his eyes shut. Yang slowly came into focus now wearing her white sundress. "Feel any better?"

"A little, I guess." she fidgets with a lock of hair, comparing it to the now much shorter locks opposite it. "Jaune, I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah sure, what is it?" he asked curiously.

Grabbing the shorter side she measured it out, she then moved to the longer side measuring it out, her hand stopping at about the length of the shorter side. "Cut this."

"I'm sorry what?"

"Cut my hair."

Jaune couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yang Xiao Long wanted her hair cut? She never let anybody touch her hair, if someone so much as pulled a hair they would soon find themselves on the receiving end of a merciless beatdown.

"Why?"

"A thousand-pound crocodile just death rolled me by it: long hair might not be the best choice for this environment..."

"Yang why don't you think about this…" He interrupted.

"Let me finish!" She barked, shutting him up. "I figure it will grow back eventually, but if I keep it like this it will just grow back uneven."

"So you want me to hack off your hair with my sword?"

She grimaced at the image. "Please don't phrase it like that. But yes."

He started to walk closer to her, hand on his hilt. "Are you sure about this? This won't exactly be a precision cut, not to mention stupidly dangerous."

"I have aura, and I trust you." she nodded.

She trusted him? Jaune had heard a lot of incredible things that were impossible to believe. Ancient wizards, mystic relics, magical maidens and dark queens of the Grimm. But the fact that Yang trusted him with her hair... _that_ was probably the most difficult to believe.

He drew his weapon

"Are you absolutely sure? I can't take this back." He wanted to be sure she wanted this, the last thing he wanted was for her to hate him later.

"I am absolutely sure."

"Okay. Hold still, please." raising his sword up his eyes met hers. She nodded. Crocea Mors came down resting against the locks, sliding the blade back and forth in a sawing motion he began to cut through, making small adjustments as he went in an attempt to keep it as even as possible.

Yang stood there staring at the clump of hair she held in her hand before letting it go, the golden locks being carried away like straw on the wind. "How do I look?"

"Different." the word left Jaune's lips before he could even think, but she did indeed look different Yang's hair was drastically shorter than before, maybe an inch longer than Ruby's was.

The frown on her face told him that that was the wrong thing to say.

"But like a good different!" he hastily added.

"Still know how to make a girl feel good." she whispered sarcastically. "Let's just head back."

"Yeah, okay."

Way to go Jaune: open mouth, insert foot. Making their way back to the bungalows he grabbed the fish Yang had caught. "Why don't you lie down, I'll take care of dinner."

"Sure." she replied snapping her arm back in place.

Jaune headed outside and began gathering up some of the relatively dry wood he'd brought down before he went exploring. He stared at the yellow fish, trying to remember the last time he had prepared fish; it had to have been a couple of years since his sister was a flower scout. It was big enough that if prepared properly would be a small meal for both of them.

That was if he even could prepare it properly, hopefully, it wasn't poisonous. Maybe he was better off going to the beach and attempt to harvest the literal half a ton of crocodile meat. Then again he doubted Yang would want to ever see it again…

"That's it!" Jaune knew what he had to do, this would be sure to cheer Yang up.

 _######_

Yang sighed as flopped onto the couch which let out a soggy squelch. She didn't even care it would stain her dress, she couldn't possibly feel any lower. This wasn't just some act of self defense, she could have easily driven off the crocodile without killing it. No kill was too soft a world.

She had annihilated it.

She'd lost control and punched it until its skull was a fine paste, all because for a brief moment, she saw him… saw Adam. A phantom pain ran through her non existent arm. The universe must have had it out for her: she'd been attacked by a shark, now a crocodile. She had even lost her hair...

Her fingers ran through her hair: it was so short, she couldn't remember the last time her hair hadn't reached her shoulders.

She through her head back. "Life sucks!"

If that wasn't the understatement of the century. Stuck on some gods' forsaken island in the middle of the ocean, little food and torrential rains. "Could this place get any worse?"

"Excuse me miss, is it alright if a gentleman offered a drink to the prettiest girl in the bar?"

Yang looked up and there was Jaune holding out a glass, a colorful little drink complete with a little umbrella.

"Jaune what are you doing?"

"Yang, is that you!? I hardly recognized you." He said with fake shock.

"It's not going to work, it's not saying much if I'm the only girl for a hundred miles."

"It's a strawberry sunrise." He said in an almost sing-song tone.

"It's amazing that you never managed to charm Weiss' skirt off with tactics like that." She reached out and took the drink from him. "But I appreciate the effort, thank you." She took a sip, it wasn't the best she had ever had but it was still the most flavorful thing she had had in days. "Why did you make me a drink?"

"You beat a crocodile with one hand tied behind your back. So you won the bet."

The bet? Oh yeah the bet! She had nearly forgotten about it. "Oh...well you'll have to forgive me if we forgo the dancing for now."

"I'm fine with that. We can go dance some other time."

Yang smiled, it had been an awful day, maybe she would take him up on that offer, but for now, she could at least enjoy the drink he went through the trouble of making. After all, she did wrestle a menagerian crocodile.

A _menagerian_ crocodile…

An animal native to the south Mistrali seas.

Their airship was supposed to go north.

"Yang you okay? You look pale."

"I'm fine, just feeling a little hungry."

"I'll start on dinner then."

With that she was alone, what could she do? No wonder they hadn't been found, they were way off course. Should she tell Jaune…

No, she couldn't possibly, it was all her fault they were even here in the first place. She'd just have to keep it to herself for now, but even if she had to swim carrying Jaune on her back.

She'd get them off this island.

* * *

Well so ends another chapter done, so lots of things happened this chapter, and now Jaune and Yang have secrets from each other, which in no way will be a factor later.

Welp now to let my second playthrough of 3 houses consume me.

Special note of Thanks to Burkion for helping me out with the crocodile scene.


End file.
